Shugo Siblings!
by NessieWinsa
Summary: Middle School, can the guardian suvive it? New company, new depressions, and the charas become human! Rima's responsible, but her 'Wish' is so powerful, it becomes detected by Dream Coperations, what will Nagihiko do to save her? All couples!
1. Prologue

**Hello, all Rimahiko fans!**

**In case you didn't know, my name is Nessie Winsa! But I want a more fun name... so call me Piggy-chan! Yes, I know, strange name, but you'll soon realize I am a strange child! MWAHAHAHAHA!**

**Rima: I think we all know that T.T;;**

**Piggy-chan: Well, thanks for pointing that out. Anyways, this is my very first Shugo Chara fanfic, so please, no flaming-rock-chucking-at-my-story if there's something you really don't like. If you want me to change something, just review, or send me a PM. I'll try to be discriptive, and please don't kill me if the characters sound out of character. I will support both Tadamu and Amuto ships, cuz I have no idea about them. At first, I was a kinda Tadamu fan, but realized Ikuto wasn't that bad, so I'll write both in. Will include KiariXYaya, Rikkaru, and KukaiXUtau. **

**Rima: Please just get on with the summary.**

**Piggy-chan: RIGHT! So, Rima and the rest of the former guardians have graduated from elementary school and are now in the first month of middle school. I'm having their school start and end Canadian style. It's cuz I'm confused with the Amarican style... and I'm even more confused with the Japanese style... so lets just have it at that! They start school in september and end school on thel ast days of June. Anyways, Rima's parents are fighting even more now, so Rima isn't getting as much sleep as a normal kid needs, thus making her nap in class, fail in tests and her parents arguing EVEN MORE. Sad, sad life...**

**Rima: Shuddup.**

**Piggy-chan: Because of a wish, Kusukusu and all the other guaridians/former guardians/ people who have charas, become human. Taking the role of a sibling, either older or younger. They will stay human for one year to fufill their owner's wishes and desires to be less lonely/evil/sad/hyper/cold/worried/dumb/carless/smart and so on! But one day, Rima's dad finds out Rima's mother's secret about working over time, and sets him into a rage. He gets drunk and almost kills all of them. Rima takes refuge at whoever can let her in, because during the incident, Kusukusu is stabbed in the shoulder. But the only one who can help her... is Nagihiko. Kusukusu soon realizes their close friendship and can see their desires for each other. Along with Temari and Rhythm (which she has feeling for, herself) they try to get them together. But a new company, Dream Corperations, is opening. A strange evil is opening, what will happen THEN? DUN Dun dun!**

**Rima: You really are strange, can't you just get on with the story? GOD!**

**Piggy-chan: Aww, Rima. You ruined the suspense. **

**Rima: Whatever. Nessie Winsa does not own anything. She's just a lonely little thirteen year old with no life but to support me and Nagihiko's ship.**

**Piggy-chan: TAKE THAT BACK! I"M PIGGY-CHAN, REMEMBER?**

**Rima: Right, but you never told me I had to call you that, pig lover.**

**Piggy-chan: HMPH! Okay, on with the story, ENJOY!**

_-NW_ :3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings**

Prologue

* * *

'_The wish comes to troubled souls who are able to find hope to hold onto in the endless sea of misery._'

A bright light above my head shimmered with dazzling white radiance. It looked a bit like an egg. I couldn't refuse this wish. Not even at a time like now. Because, even if I looked normal on the outside, I was a wilting flower in the inside. It was only a matter of time before my soul began to rot and turn to ashes, only to be swept away by the wind of life.

It was now or never.

I clasp my hands together and began to pray. A prayer I've never prayed before.

My desire was to never be alone again, even if I wasn't, I wanted people to laugh with me. To be happy. That's what I wished for my family, and that's how I got a Shugo Chara. I got Kusukusu, my clown personality, was to make everyone laugh and smile to their heart's content. But my parents didn't smile anymore. They just kept fighting over who was wrong and who was right. I don't care who the best is, or who's right. I just wanted us to be that family that laughed and had good times together, like we used to.

I don't want to be alone anymore. I don't just want people to laugh. I want to laugh with them. I don't want to be alone anymore, is there someone out there who can understand that?

Even if it was just for a short time, I'd give anything in the world to be happy again.

To have someone make me smile, that's my wish.

* * *

I got up as usual. I had a strange dream last night, but should I tell the guardians about it?

I swung my legs off of my bed and grabbed my school uniform. Today was another bad day, I could tell. Because my parents where arguing again last night, I didn't fall asleep until one in the morning. Seriously, what type of humans fight until midnight and go to work in the early morning?

I jumped down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. My parents were gone, good. I sighed with relief.

That means I won't get a head ache _and_ sleep in class today.

I took some milk from the fridge and poured myself a glass. Strange, this morning seemed awfully… quiet. Where's Kusukusu? I looked around to see that crazy clown chara, but realized she wasn't here. _Maybe she went to a secret meeting with the other's charas this morning?_ I thought, trying not to worry about her. Kusukusu didn't usually leave me without a note or telling me where'd she be. I shook my head and tried to brush off the feeling. She was probably fine, or sleeping in a vent or something. Don't ask.

I went upstairs to brush my teeth, grabbed the keys and stuffed my homework in my backpack. I checked my clock. I had about five more minutes to leave the house and start walking. I shut the house door and locked it before making my way to school.

Something about my dream last night felt real. Too real. Like I wasn't dreaming at all. And my wish? I might have been wishing that, but I felt so alone at the moment, I didn't know what else to do. My parents had been fighting, _again_. Something about my mom working overtime, I hadn't paid much attention, but my dad got so angry, he threw his dishes he was eating off of out the window. That got my mom all worked up and she started yelling at him ten times as loud. I stared at the ceiling the entire night, just wondering if there was a chance of getting my parents happy again. I must have fallen asleep or something, because the next thing I know, the sky is really dark, and I couldn't hear anything but the crickets outside, so my parents must have been asleep. Kusukusu was in her egg and the moon was up. I looked out my window and saw a stray dog digging around the garbage outside. It howled mournfully. Probably because it was hungry or cold or something, but I felt myself wonder if it was in pain. Not just a physical pain, but a deeper wound than an actual cut. The wound of loneliness.

I felt tears run down my eyes for the creature. Not for pity, but because I understood its pain. I felt so lonely because no one wound smile for me anymore. My friends smiled, but I kept wondering why I didn't. Have I forgotten how to smile? Not a fake one, but a real, genuine smile. The one that made others feel your joy.

"Rima-chan!"

I turned around to see a very tired Amu.

"Morning," I greeted as she stopped running at my side and panted a few time.

She gave me a 'good morning' look and said, "What are you doing? School starts any minute now, aren't you rushing?"

"So my clock was wrong…?" This is all my parents fault! One of them changed it… or Kusukusu. That prankster, I'll get back at her for it. _I can't wait to twist her head off her neck_, I thought with a grimace.

"Probably. Now, Rima-chan. How fast can you run…?" Amu smiled.

"Uh…" I said and shook my head.

* * *

"Mashiro-san!"

My eyes fluttered open in response. In panic, I got up but tripped over my chair and fell on the floor.

"H-hai?" I answered, to my dismay, as more of a question than a response.

"Please stop sleeping in class and pay attention." I heard a few giggles in the classroom. I picked myself up, brushed off the bits of dust on my skirt and glared at some girls who had laughed at my clumsiness. "Now, tell me, since you have the time to take a _nap_, how many planets do we have in our solar system?"

"Umm…" I hesitated. If I had a little piece and quiet at home, _maybe_ I wouldn't _be_ in this situation. Stupid parents and their stupid arguments, stupid school, stupid science class, stupid teachers and their stupid questions! Stupid solar system and planets. I think I'm taking out on everything around me too much. Calm down, Rima.

"Well?"

I looked at our science teacher's face, as if the answers were written there.

"We had nine, but Pluto is a dwarf planet, so we have eight!" The person behind me replied for me. _Hmph, showoff_, I thought and sat down.

"Very good, Fujisaki-san. But that question wasn't for you. Next time, let's have Mashiro-san answer, alright?"

Stupid purple-head must have nodded because the teacher continued with the lesson.

I sighed. Today was going to be a _loong_ day. And I don't exaggerate.

* * *

I packed my books up after math class. Finally, lunch break. Being a middle-schooler isn't easy. It means I can't fail anything anymore. It means I have to study. I was actually surprised to know that I graduated elementary school. Maybe you can't fail elementary subjects? Who knows, it could be Tsukasa wanted to get rid of us. Wow, that would be weird, especially for that perverted strange guy. He probably wanted us to go so he could torture the new guardians. Like Yaya, Kairi, Rikka and Hikaru.

I went to the library for a change. It's already been a month after school started and I'm already failing every test that comes my way. Especially science. And math.

I've tried to stay away from the library as much as possible, with the exception of the comedy and manga section, because of all the books. I mean seriously, who can read a book without pictures?

The librarian gave me a surprised look, but motioned for me to come in. I nodded and made my way to the science books. _Science is probably easier than math_, I figured, _so I'll start with a book about our solar system_. I looked through a whole bunch of space books and took out a few of them, making sure they had pictures.

I looked around for sears but a lot of them were occupied by nerds and smart people who actually _enjoyed_ hanging around a library during lunch break. I decided to go to my secret spot in the library.

The secret spot in the library was the place I could be alone. I usually go there to find some quiet. And the best part of my hiding spot is, no one knows I'm there. It's pretty much an abandoned room in the huge library that no one knows about or doesn't use anymore. There's a single desk and a few chairs all covered in dust. But I clean them so I can use the room as my private reading room for gag manga or just some alone time.

I turned down a few halls of our massive library into empty corridors that looked old beyond ancient. I finally reached a old wooden door, and smiled to find it was locked. I pulled out a bobby pin out of my hair and stuck it in the lock. Don't get my wrong, I'm not a hacker, but the lock is so old, it's easy enough for a two year old to find a way in. At last, the door creaked open and I walked in, closing the door so no one knew I was here. I sighed as I sat down in one of the old chairs and took out a book about Astronomy and read for a few minutes.

I swear, reading about space has got to be the most boring thing in the world. I mean, who cares about all this stuff? I know _I_ don't. It's not like this is going to help us in life.

I read for another while, but found my eyes starting to close. I crossed my arms and slumped my head on them..

_I guess a nap could help_, I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Rima-chan?"

I felt someone's breath against my cheek. The voice that called me was soft and sweet, like music. Someone had their fingers in my hair and was brushing it softly.

"Rima, are you awake?"

The voice was closer to my ears and a bit louder. Was I dreaming?

"Rima~?"

I opened my eyes just a bit, to see some purple strands of hair in my face.

"HOLY!" I screamed and jumped up, suddenly finding a sharp pain at the back of my head.

"Oww…" we both said in unison.

"Sorry…" I started as I turned but stopped to see… him. Yes, _him_. And if you're smart enough, you'll know who I'm talking about. That's right; standing in front of me was purple-head.

His face was flushed pink, though I have no idea why, and he was holding his nose. In his other hand, he held a book on Astronomy. His amber coloured eyes looked in shock, but he soon began to chuckle. His laughs sounded so musical, it was hard not to realize. Wait, why am I thinking about that? What's wrong with me? I'm supposed to hate him! Okay Rima, just breath in and breath out. He's messing with your head. It's okay. Just calm down.

"You're head is hard," he laughed as he rubbed his nose.

Okay, that's it! Forget about calming yourself.

"Well, you have a hard nose," I snapped.

He only laughed even more.

"What?" I pouted.

"You're just so cute, Rima-chan!"

I felt my face burn. "Sh-shut up."

Beautiful. I stuttered. Can't I say anything without hesitating around him? It's always been that way ever since middle school started. Like he had some kind of magnet that made me smile and laugh with him. Stupid purple-head.

"Hey, what are you doing here anyways?"

"I, uh…" I looked down at the books on the table. "Studying…"

"I didn't know people could read with their eyes closed!" Nagihiko laughed some more. Wait, I mean purple-head. He's messing with my brain! I have to get him out!

"I just fell asleep for a little while." I mumbled.

"When did you start?"

"Lunch break."

His eyes widened. "Didn't you hear the bell?"

I rolled my eyes. "There's no speaker in here. Even if there was, it's still lunch, right?"

He started to chuckle again. Stop laughing, you stupid cross dresser!

"What?" I pouted.

"It's already the end of the day!" He concluded through stifles of laughter. "Rima, you slept through half of school!"

"WHAT?" I practically jumped on him and started to shake him by the shoulders like a hyper-active monkey. "You mean, it's not lunch anymore!"

"Yes!" He whipped some tears away. "God, Rima. You're making me cry because you're so damn funny!"

"This _isn't_ funny! If my parents found out I missed the science test…" I started to think about what type of argument they would have. Most likely the verbal one, but sometimes my dad would throw some things out the window, or break a flower vase or something.

"What Rima? What would they do?"

I suddenly realized purple-head wasn't laughing anymore. His face was serious. Not just serious, _dead_ serious. But what did he care? My parents were always like this, so it didn't matter, right? His bright orange eyes were grim, not like the eyes I saw a minute ago, joyful and happy. His face started to lean towards mine. I thought about the space between us, getting smaller and smaller each second. His breath smelled nice and cool, I wonder if― Wait! Hold up!

I stepped back from him, and he seemed to realize how scared I was, so he stopped.

"What have your parents been doing to you?" His voice was so cold and menacing, I felt myself shiver. A minute ago, he was annoying as always, but just now, he seemed almost, _scary_.

"N-nothing," I stuttered. I didn't like discussing family matters.

"Did they hit you?" his voice softened.

"N-no," my hands shook.

"Good," he sighed. His voice was calmer now, but he seemed to always be protective of me. So was this a surprise? I didn't want to talk about my parents, but at the same time, I wanted to release all the weight on my back. Maybe… just a little bit of information would be okay. "What do they do?" He asked more quietly.

"T-they argue as always, but ever since my mom started coming home later, they began to fight more often and longer. Sometime their fights end around early morning. They fight late into the night and I can't get any sleep. That's probably why sleep in class so much, and I fail a lot of tests. I wish…" I swallowed some tears that threatened to show. "I wish they'd just divorce already. I tried so hard to get them smiling again, but they never seem to realize that I exist for a good reason. I'm just a problem for them, so I can't do anything to make them happy. I wish I could, but I can't. Even Kusukusu can't do anything anymore for me. I don't know…" I already knew from the water droplets running down my face I was crying. My parents fight, but there's nothing I can do for them anymore.

Then I felt something gentle and warm wrap around me like a huge blanket. It was soft and protective. I didn't open my eyes to see what I was holding because I knew I would reject him. For once, Nagihiko comforted me in a way I couldn't help but take. Unconsciously, I hugged him back. I buried my head in his chest and sobbed like a mourner at a funeral. More and more water just leaked out of my eyes like a never ending rain. More just came after I thought I was done. I'll be dehydrated after this, that's for sure. But no matter how wet I got his shirt, Nagihiko didn't move away once. He just stood there, with his arms around me and ran his fingers down my wavy hair, time to time whispering in my ear that it was all going to be okay. I wish I could believe him, but I couldn't. I couldn't fully believe him, but his words did stop a few tears each time he said it. He soon realized this, because he said it more frequently as well as smoothening my back and brushing my hair in comfort.

"S-sorry," I said after all my water works was over.

"It's okay," Purple-head replied with a smile. Unfortunately, a big water stain was on his white dress-shirt.

I started to laugh.

"What?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering what your excuse will be for the stain."

"I'll say that I spilled water on my shirt."

I laughed.

"Right, I'm sure they'll fall for that. _Master of female Japanese dance, spilled water on his shirt_." I stated dramatically.

"Hey," he chuckled. "Or I could just say I surprised you and you _spat_ water on my shirt."

I laughed so hard, I was rolling on the floor. I don't know how that could be funny, but somehow, it cracked my up. Purple-head's messing with me again. And before, did I _say_ his _name_? _Twice_? No, I didn't he was messing with me, _again_!

I got up and saw him smiling at me. "What?"

"You're cuter when you laugh. Better than tears." My face was heating up again.

"Whatever. How did you find me anyways?" I desperately changed the subject.

"I usually come here to read. I came to the library to return some of my books after the bell, but I realized I left some of the books here and came back to get them. Then I found the door unlocked and you where sleeping on the desk."

"Nerd," I muttered under my breath.

"You say something?"

"No…"

"We have a guardian meeting too."

"Really?" My eyes widened. "We're not even guardians anymore!"

He nodded. "But haven't you noticed that Kusukusu is gone?"

I bit my lip. "I thought she was with the other's charas on a secret mission or something." Oh, god. Please don't tell me she was kidnapped by something or someone.

"I know. That's what I thought about Temari and Rhythm too. But everyone's charas are gone for some reason, since this morning. And no one can find them."

I can't believe this! "Do you mean, someone might have… stolen them?" I asked, trembling. To have Kusukusu taken away from me. That was my worst nightmare.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but it's a possibility."

I nodded, with warning bells ringing from every part of my brain.

"We should go, everyone's gathering in the Royal Garden."

I composed myself, breathed in and out a couple of times and headed to the exit of the library with Nagihiko.

* * *

I dragged myself home, tired from the day's events, and yawned. We spent three _FREAKING_ hours after school looking for the charas, but didn't find anything. Everyone's charas were gone. All the guardians, and former guardians, Utau and Ikuto searched every corner, alley, passage, store, bus stop, station, and yard, but found nothing. Like they had all just disappeared into thin air.

I was officially scared for my life of what happened to Kusukusu. I can't believe she was just… gone. It wasn't possible. How could she just leave?

I sighed and saw my house up ahead. My parents were going to get into another fight because I came home late. It was already hell in my house, why couldn't I just die already?

"I'm home," I squeaked. Scared about my parent's reaction.

"Rima! She's home, dear!"

"Oh, it's good to see you, Rima, honey!"

"Rima-chan~! You're here, finally~!"

I almost dropped dead at the entrance of our house.

There were my parents… having a _normal_ dinner… with a strange little girl. She had stringy, long orange- blonde hair that reached to her hips. Her orange eyes glowed with excitement, just under her bangs. An orange leotard with white spots made her look like a clown and ballerina at the same time, except much prettier. She had a white, fluffy skirt that reached up to her thighs and white knee socks with matching orange slippers. She wore a clown hat with a furry green ball at the tip as well as the same green colour face paint under her eyes. The green face paint looked like a star under one eye and a water drop under the other.

"K-K-K-K-K-K-Kusukusu!" I practically screamed and jumped on her. "Where the _hell_ were you!" I demanded while shaking her like a ragged doll.

"Uh…" she started, but mom stopped her.

"Now, Rima please get off her." I did as I was told to. The she continued. "Rima, we don't strangle our little sisters. It's not civilized." She stopped. "Rima, are you listening to me?"

But it was too late. I already fainted.

* * *

**Piggy-chan: How do guys like it so far?**

**Rima: It sucks.**

**Piggy-chan: AGAIN with the straight-forwardness, Rima! I mean, come on! Lighten up. Anways, I wanted to play a game at the bottom part of the Author notes of the story. I'll call it... Character Spinner!**

**Rima: Oh dear Lord...**

**Piggy-chan: *ignoring Rima* I came up with the idea while browsing Shugo chara wikia or something or other. The idea is, I'll pick a character at random, and tell you what I think of him/her. And now... Rima, I'm browsing so tell me when to stop!**

**Rima: Uh... stop?**

**Piggy-chan: And I got... Kiseki. WHAT THE HECK?**

**Kiseki: Well, don't just stand there, commoner. Speak! What do you think of your all mighty ruler?**

**Piggy-chan: *sweats* Uh...**

**Kiseki: Well, SAY SOMETHING!**

**Piggy-chan: In truth, over all, I think you're a psycho maniac who's obsession is to rule the world. You have to be right about everything, even when you're not. It's kinda annoying to hear you say you're the king or soon will be. You're obsession has made you vain and untolarable with others, as a result of having everyone disobey you. But you're good points are that you never give up, al least not easily, and you're very confident with others. Personally, I like you're costume, cuz It's cute! And I find it hilarious that you yell "Listen to the King!" or something like that, because when people turn to face you, what do they see? A mini figure of a king only, what? Three, four inches tall? Yeah, makes me laugh like their's no tommorrow.**

**Rima: ... And you said I'm straigh forward.**

**Kiseki: I DEMAND YOU TAKE THAT BACK, COMMONER! I'll HAVE YOU BE-HEADED! Or better yet, THRWON ALIVE TO THE LIONS!**

**Piggy-chan: Ah, but you can't do that. Because I have to update the story.**

**Kiseki: Then We'll have a vote. If the readers agree with you, you won't be killed, but if they don't... EXICUTION! MWAHAHAHAHA!**

**Rima: R&R to see what happens next... if you care to see what happens...**

**Piggy-chan: See ya!**

_-NW_ :3


	2. How It All Started

**Piggy-chan: Welcome back~!**

**Rima: Seriously, you don't want to read this. Just browse some other story.**

**Piggy-chan: It's my second chappie on my first Shugo Chara fanfic!**

**Rima: Maybe even navigate off this site and watch videos on Youtube or something.**

**Piggy-chan: I hope you enjoy it! This chapter is more on the bonding between Rima and Kusukusu.**

**Rima: You know what? Just shut down your computer and do something productive. Like try out different sports.. or a new genre of manga. Like gag manga~**

**Piggy-chan: RIMA! *smacks her with a stick* Let them do whatever they want!**

**Rima: *rubs her bruised areas* Yeah yeah, but they should do something exciting in they're life...**

**Piggy-chan: *glares* Just. Do. The. Damn. Disclaimer.**

**Rima: *sweats* Uh... Piggy-psycho doesn't own anything-OWW! That hurt ALOT! Give me that stick! *yanks out of my reach* And enjoy.**

-NW :3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings!**

Chapter One

How It All Started

* * *

"Rima?"

"I hope she's alright. Because the way she just… hit the floor!"

"Dear, I'm positive she didn't get a concussion."

"Are you sure? Because she just… fell! It looked like she knocked herself out! I've never seen her react that way."

"She must have had a tiring day, dear. She's been gone for about nine hours, including school. She must be worn-out from everything!"

"I guess you're right."

I opened my eyes wearily. I swear I just heard my parents agree on something without a single insult.

"…Mom? …Dad? Is that you?"

"Honey! You're awake!"

"Sweet cakes!" My mom rushed forward to me and hugged me so hard, I felt my bones crack.

"Ow." I winced.

"Sorry, sweetie!" My mom backed away and both my parents gave me a worried look.

"Are you okay, honey?" My dad bent down on his knees and held my hand on the blankets.

"What do you mean?"

"You fainted a while ago and you blacked out for a few hours. Rima, sweetie, we were so worried!"

"Y-you were?" I felt a tug at my lips that curled into a smile. Did they really care about me this much?

"Yes! Rima, honey, don't scare us like that!" My dad begged.

"So you guys aren't mad at me?"

"Of course not!" They both said at the same time. Strange… but that was okay.

"Oh," I sighed in relief. "I had this weird dream. And I lost uh… something, and when I got home, I had a new sister."

My dad laughed. "How would you get a new sister? You're mother isn't even pregnant!"

"Right…" I laughed nervously. But something about this dream I had made me feel as though it was real.

"Oh, wait right here, Rima!" Mom got up and motioned for someone to come out of the hallway and into my room. "It's okay now! Rima's awake!"

And then I saw the same little girl from my dream step into my room. She had this sad face on, which turned into the biggest smile I had ever seen anyone do.

I felt my mouth hang open, and if this was a cartoon, my mouth would have dropped to the floor. God damn-it Rima! It wasn't a dream! It was REAL!

"K-Kusukusu…" I choked. Tears formed at my eyes. I had been so worried about her, who knew she'd be one of those people to make me cry of happiness?

"Rima-chan~!" She sang in a sing-song voice and hugged me with her petite arms.

"Aww, dear, we have to get the camera out! They're just so cute!"

"Mom, dad… could I talk to Kusukusu alone for a minute… privately?" I asked nervously.

"Okay Honey-buns! Don't bee too long! You're supper is in the kitchen!" My dad left.

"You two talking about girl things?" Mom smiled. "I know a few things about shampoo and conditioner to make your hair nicer."

"Mom…"

"And I learned a few tips over the years about nail polish!"

"Mom!"

"Well, if you want to talk about the best tampons―"

"MOM!" I screamed at her and she fled from my room as fast as her feet could go. Which was pretty smart of her.

I turned to Kusukusu with a glare as she giggled nervously.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. My. PARENTS?" I yelled as I tackled her to the ground and started to beat her with anything I could find. Mostly pillows and books I took off the shelves.

"I didn't, OW! Do that, OWW Rima! Much to them― Oww, Rima, that hurts!"

I got off of her and pointed a long ski pole at her throat. (Don't ask where I got it. I found it on the street when some people tried to attack me at my old school.)

"But you will explain everything, right? Like why you're human and what happened to my parents and everyone else's charas, right?"

"Y-yes," she squeaked as she tried to get away from the ski pole.

I let it pock her chin before putting down the ski pole next to my bed.

"Why are you human?" I demanded.

"Because you wished it to be," Kusukusu simply put.

"No, I never wished for something like that!" I protested.

"Rima, I know it might be a surprise for you, but please listen and stop jumping to conclusions." Kusukusu gave me a stern look. It felt kinda weird, I mean, she's supposed to be my clown personality, so 'serious' was the last emotion I thought she would show.

"Okay," I sighed and waited for her to start.

"No interruptions?"

"Nope."

"Good. It started a while ago, when your mom started working over time, remember? Both of your parents started arguing even more, and you became really worried. Because your thoughts where more of sorrow than happiness, the way a true child should be, your Wish awakened."

"My wish?" I asked in confusion.

"No, your _Wish_. Your Wish is a present that slumbers in your heart beside your Heart's Egg. It is awakened during your times of sorrow, like loneliness, heartbreak, selfishness, apathy, grief, fear, hatred, shame, guilt, regret, resentment, anger, hostility, depression, anxiety, discouragement, disappointment and hopelessness when strongest. It then waits to see if it is needed, and if things are stable or goes back to normal, it once again turns to sleep. But if things become radical and harder to live, your Wish comes out of your body and grants you a wish that will give you the strength to go back to normal. All children have a Wish, but when they start to grow up, their Wish disappears because they have out grown security and are ready to journey alone. But some adults believe they're not ready yet and start to have hardships in their life. Instead of thinking positively, they kill themselves. It's called suicide." She pointed out.

I rolled my eyes. "So you're saying the Wish is supposed to help their owner in a way to restore the balance in their emotions?"

"Sort of," she tapped her chin. "But you can only use your wish once, then it's gone. Not completely gone, but it becomes a part of your emotions. It's called hope."

I nodded. "But how does this have to do with me?"

Kusukusu gave me a funny look. "Don't you get it? Everything that's happened so far is because you used your Wish! Your Wish heard that you were lonely and wanted to smile, so it took all the closest things that you hold close to you and made them as close to you as possible! Your parents are acting this way because you love them even though they don't show you the same love back, and made them get along in the house. I became human because I'm the only one who can make you laugh when something's wrong! And everyone else's charas turned human so they could learn to understand their owners more also! I don't know how that affects you, but it does in some way. Didn't you notice that floating bright egg the other night?"

"So you were awake! I knew it!"

Kusukusu giggled. "No, I was snoozing. But I felt your emotions in my sleep."

I sighed. Just when I thought everything was hard, everything became even more complicated. "But my parents will stop fighting, right?"

"In the house," Kusukusu mumbled as she looked through some of my gag manga. "Wow, this is so much easier with bigger hands!" She exclaimed as she flipped to the next page.

"Why didn't anyone mention about this… Wish?"

"Because if there was a book about it like the Heart's Egg story, weird people could try to steal them." Kusukusu sipped some orange juice with a straw that I hadn't realized she had with her.

I pulled the straw out of her mouth. "What did you say about stealing Wishes?"

"Aww, Rima-chan~ I was drinking that…" I pulled my gag manga out of her reach. "And I was reading that!" She jumped up to get the gag manga, but unfortunately for her, she was smaller than me, if that was possible. Now I know how everyone else feels, being tall is sweet!

I let the book dangle above her head. "Not until you give me some answers."

She threw herself on the floor. "Fine. You win."

I smiled. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"It's possible to steal someone's Wish when they're making their wish on it. That's the most vulnerable time. Because the Wish has to take a physical form, a physical being can take it, confuse the Wish, and make it believe they're granting the Wish to their captors. I heard that it's possible, but rare."

I stared at her.

"What?"

"You were just speaking nerd," I pointed at her.

"No I wasn't!"

"Yes you were, how can you be Kusukusu? You're not that fun loving and crazy chara I know! Someone's taken over you!" I yelled playfully and threw a pillow at her face, making her hair all messed up.

She gave me a sad look and dropped the pillow.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I thought you were more than that, Rima. I guess I was wrong." Her face fell and she refused to look at me in the eye.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you understood me better, the way I understood you. But now… I'm not sure anymore. Rima-chan, didn't you know that charas are more than you think they are? They understand your every emotion, fear, pain, happiness and thought. When you get hurt, so do I, when you laugh, I do too. Just because we represent you're wannabe persona, doesn't mean we don't understand anything else." Kusukusu got up and left without her orange juice.

I felt bad, _really_ bad. I never thought of charas more than our would-be selves. Like a mini representation of what we wanted to be. I couldn't help but sigh and lay there on my bed, thinking about how I would apologize. Maybe in the morning, she's a morning person, so it might be okay then.

I placed her orange juice and the gag manga on my night stand and pulled the covers over me on the bed. All I could do know was hope for the best.

_Bleep, Ble-bleep! _

Ugh, I have to change my ring tone soon.

I checked my cell phone and found a text message from Tsukasa. How the _hell_ did he get my cell phone number? Maybe he got it from Tadase who got it from Amu… or something like that.

_Guardian Meeting after school in the Royal Garden. _

_Everyone who has a chara or egg must attend. Yes, that means you, Hikaru._

_NO EXCEPTIONS or EXCUSES. Period. _

_Bring your CHARAS! :D_

I sighed. Tomorrow already was going to be a bad day, even though it was still a day ahead.

* * *

I yawned, today could not get any worse than it already was.

"Rima, honeyyy! Take your sister to school, okayyy?"

Yep, the universe _loved_ proving me wrong, didn't it?

I hopped down the stairs after I changed, but stopped at our family picture on the wall. It usually had a crack in the glass, but for some reason, it looked brand new. But what I saw next almost made me drop the orange juice I still had to give back to Kusukusu.

My mom and dad were in the picture, but in the middle of them, where I should have been, was a space. On either side of my parents, a small girl with wavy golden hair and an even smaller girl with stringy orange blonde hair, stood with a smile on their faces. I don't know how my Wish did it, but it looks like if I asked my mom why Kusukusu was in our family portrait, she would call me silly or 'What are you talking about? Kusukusu was always in our family!'

"Morning… Mom …Dad …Kusukusu." I yawned. But my eyes widened at what I had just said. "Mom, Dad! You should be at work right now! You'll be late!"

"Can't we spend a little time with our princesses?" My dad kissed me on the forehead.

I freaked. "No― I mean, yes! But you're bosses will get mad at you! They'll fire you! Then we won't be able to afford the house! What about the food? We'll live on the streets! I don't want to be a hobo! So make your lives less stressful and, GET. GOING!" I pushed them towards the entrance.

"Okay, Sweetie. But you have to help Kusukusu find her class. She's in grade four, okay? Can you do that for―"

"Grade four, help her find her class, got it. We'll be a little late with after school activites, now, GO!" I shoved them out the door. Almost like the way you switch a light on, World War III looked upon us all.

"_Holy shit!_" My dad yelled when he checked his watch. "I'm late!"

"It's your tardiness that makes you late, you _bastard!_" My mom spat at him.

"Shut up. You're the one to talk, _bitch_." He snapped as they climbed into separate cars and drove off without a second glance at me, Kusukusu, or the house.

Kusukusu and I just gawked as they raced away, a driving speed any police men would give his doughnuts away to ticket a speeder like that for. When they were out of sight, Kusukusu and I just stared at each other, then broke down with laughter.

"He just…" Kusukusu giggled.

"I know…and she was…" I laughed.

"The look on their faces…"

"It was priceless!" I finished for her as we laughed so hard, we both were on the floor like insane nut cases rolling around the carpet.

"We should go to school now," Kusukusu said in-between gasps of air.

"Yeah," I agreed, equally as tired from laughing so much and so hard.

Kusukusu stood and started up the stairs when I stopped her.

"Umm, about last night. I'm really sorry Kusukusu." I bit my lip. Did I mention apologizing wasn't my strongest point? "I really didn't know you felt like that, and I didn't realize it. So, umm… I'll try to understand you from now on." I promised.

She grinned. "Okay. So we made up, right?"

"Yeah, you're my little sister after all." _But for how long…?_

Kusukusu smiled and ran up the stairs.

At least one problem was solved, but what about the others that awaited us?

God, today was going to be a bad day. I just knew it.

* * *

**Piggy-chan: Hows y'all like so far?**

**Rima: Sucks like hell.**

**Piggy-chan: *Sobs* That hurt, Rima! Right HERE! *Points at chest***

**Rima: Uh... isn't your heart supposed to be a little higher? T.T**

**Piggy-chan: Oh... O.o;;**

**Rima: Yeah... and Nagihiko wasn't in this chapter!**

**Piggy-chan: Ooh, you mad about that? So you DO care about him! I KNEW IT! I was SO RIGHT! *confettii falls from the heavens***

**Rima: I think you're getting ahead of youself ...**

**Piggy-chan: Sorry I didn't include Rimahiko fluffyness in this chappie, but I promise to do so in the next one! Heck, I think I'll overload it next chapter! Or sort of...**

**Rima: Please just don't do anything unorigional...**

**Piggy-chan: Why is that, Rima-chan~? You want me to find a new way for you to looove him~?**

**Rima: You are the sickest, retarded freak pervert in the whole WORLD!**

**Piggy-chan: *chuckles* Love ya too, Rima ;) Yay! And now it's time for... *drum roll* CHARACTER SPINNER!**

**Rima: I hate my LIFE! *bangs head against a wall***

**Piggy-chan: Oh, come on. It's not THAT bad, is it?**

**Rima & Keseki: Yes, yes it is.**

**Piggy-cahn: HMPH! Anyways, Keseki! Tell me when to stop!**

**Keseki: Aright, commoner. Await my call.**

**...**

**...**

**Piggy-chan: Uh... Keseki?**

**Rima: *poking him* He's asleep.**

**Piggy-chan: WTF?**

**Keseki: STOOOPPP! Did you get that, commoner?**

**Piggy-chan: Uh... yeah. I got... Kairi!**

**Kairi: Greetings, Authoress of Shugo Siblings! This is Character Spinner *pushes glasses up* correct?**

**Piggy-chan: Y-yes?**

**Kairi: Excellent, now, I believe you owe me a turn in the game...?**

**Piggy-chan: R-right... what you said. Sorry, but I don't speak nerd... or whatever you where saying... Anyways, I personally don't have an opinion on you, cuz I don't pay all that much attention (I like to skip to Rimahiko parts :D) But you're very smart which proves your nickname as 'Class Representative' and you marks are very high. Your dream of becoming more skill full like a samuai makes me laugh, cuz I don't think samurais exist anymore, but it's still a cool dream. Your level headedness and determination makes you respected, and also mature. Unlike your polar opposite, Yaya, who's been rumored to have something going on between you two XD Is it looove~?**

**Kairi: ... Authoress, I have no idea what your talking about... *blushes***

**Piggy-chan: YES YOU DO! Blushies!**

**Keseki & Rima: ... R&R For more updates!**

**Piggy-chan: Ciao ;D**

_-NW_ :3


	3. Everything Went Downhill From There

**Piggy-chan: *sobs* I LOVE EVERYONE!**

**Rima: I think you have a screw loose.**

**Piggy-chan: But I got alot of reviews!**

**Rima: It's only nine, relax!**

**Piggy-chan: It's still alot!**

**Rima: ... I have nothing to say to you...**

**Piggy-chan: I don't own anything! Peach-pit owns Shugo Chara, and FIFA isn't owned by me either!**

**Rima: FIFA...?**

**Piggy-chan: It's that huge soccor tournament, now held in South Africa! **

**Rima: ... How does this effect the Fanfic...?**

**Piggy-chan: You'll see ;D I'm cheerinbg the Dutch aka Netherlands ON! I'm not Dutch or anything, but the've become my favorite team ^.^;;**

**Rima: Right... enjoy!**

_-NW_ :3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings!**

Chapter Two

Everything Went Down Hill From There

* * *

"Class R4A if just down the hall, to the left." A lady directed us to Kusukusu's classroom.

Even though I'd been coming to this school last year, everything felt new again. Like something happened over the summer and I couldn't understand what. The walls and classrooms looked the same, the teachers were the same, the halls and rooms were the same, yet the air… seemed different. Like a radiation of happiness was coming out of everyone and spreading around. Like pollen, but more of a feeling. Then again, it was only the beginning of school, so everything was pretty exciting, meaning no X eggs.

"I've seen how people go to school, Rima, but this is just so amazing! I get to go to school!" Kusukusu looked ready to dance her way to homeroom.

"If you do something embarrassing, as far as I'm concerned, I don't know you."

"But my last name _is_ Mashiro, so everyone will know I'm related to you." She pointed out. Then I realized what she was wearing.

She had the same blazer uniform as the other students, except her tie was a bow, instead of wearing the plaid kilt-thing; she wore her white fluffy skirt and white knee socks. She didn't even change her shoes, she still wore her orange slippers, not to mention her face paint and clown hat, yet no one seemed to notice! What's wrong with everyone? It felt like everyone around you was under a spell and you were the only one who could see things clearly.

"So… we're here." I found her classroom. "Room 105, class R4A." The school had turned into one of those International schools in Japan, probably so Tsukasa could find even more people with charas or eggs. He's really sad that way.

R stands for 'regular' meaning a regular Japanese class. Then there'd be other classes like E for 'English', F for 'French', C for 'Chinese', S for 'Spanish', G for 'German', I for 'Italian', A for 'Arabic', RN for 'Russian', and so on.

"Hey Rima-chan," I turned around to see grape-headed Nagihiko with a taller girl and small boy.

The tall girl had violet, pink-ish hair and the same colour eyes but a little bit more purple. She had her rich, stringy hair tied in a high pony-tail, with a sakura flower elastic, that reached her hips. She had a middle school outfit (which is no difference than the elementary school outfit except the colour was pink for the girls and green for the boys), but her skit was like the bottom half of a Japanese kimono that went up to her knees. She wore pink-ish knee socks but a tabi style for the toes, and pink female geta sandals. She couldn't be mistaken for anyone else but Temari.

Then I glanced over at the little boy who was a little taller than Kusukusu. He had long amethyst purple hair that stretched to his hips as well, but hid most of it under a floppy white beanie toque that almost covered his blue-ish purple eyes. He wore the boy's uniform for elementary school, but very disorderly. His bow was tied like he had been in a rush and his cloths looked in chaos. He also had blue and white sneakers and, of course, his black head phones only meaning one thing, Rhythm.

"I can't believe of all my luck, I become human, and instead of being some famous basket ball player, I'm going to elementary school." Rhythm muttered.

Nagihiko rolled his eyes. "It's not that bad, Rhythm. Just chill."

"How can I chill, man? I'm a freaking ten year old for crying out loud!"

"I think you're over-reacting, Rhythm―"

"DUDE! This is the worst luck in the universe we're talking about!" Rhythm grabbed Nagihiko by his collar (I wonder how he managed, I mean, the height difference is really obvious) and screamed in his face.

"Um… hi, Rhythm." Kusukusu said shyly.

Rhythm turned around and his facial expression changed for anger to happiness. As if he just noticed the crowd of people in the hall ways staring at him, he looked embarrassed. He directed his attention to us, I mean, mostly Kusukusu, and smiled timidly with a hint of blush. "You guys saw that, didn't you?"

I didn't reply, knowing his question wasn't directed to me.

Kusukusu nodded.

"So," Temari interrupted the mood. "Are you going to this class too, Kusukusu-chan?"

"Yes," Kusukusu replied with an excited smile.

"Thank the universe!" I heard Rhythm quietly exclaim.

"What grade are you in, Temari?" I asked her.

Temari smiled gently and answered "I believe I am one year above you two."

"Two?" I asked. Nagihiko coughed "Oh, right." I remembered he was in my class. "Her."

"I'm not a girl," Nagihiko clearly looked ticked off. "I'm a guy, remember?"

"You were a girl." I retorted back.

"You two should really stop fighting," Rhythm interrupted. But I was in no mood to make up with a dumb cross-dressing freak.

"Says the intolerable basketball jock who keeps flirting with every female chara, especially mine." I snapped. I don't know why I always never got along with Nagihiko or Rhythm, but I always had this feeling that they never took me seriously.

"You know what Rima-chan? How about you, Temari, and Nagihiko get to Seiyo Middle School and we'll handle everything else?" Kusukusu desperately cut in before any massive explosion broke loose.

I just sighed in frustration, Rhythm nodded like an idiot he was, purple-head rolled his eyes and Temari smiled nervously.

"I think that's a great suggestion, right you two?" Temari brought up her foot and squashed our feet with the heel of her traditional sandals at the same time. Though I have no idea how she did that.

"Ow!" We yelled in pain. "Yes!" And Temari dragged us away.

* * *

"Mashiro-san, what is a star?"

"A star is a ball of mostly hydrogen and helium gas that shines extremely brightly. Our Sun is a star. A star is so massive that its core is extremely dense and hot. At the high core temperatures of a star, atoms move so fast that they sometimes stick to other atoms when they collide with them, forming more massive atoms and releasing a great amount of energy. This process is known as nuclear fusion."

For a scary second, there was dead silence.

"Correct! Mashiro-san, please stay after class. I would like to speak to you."

I nodded and sat down.

"How did you know that?" A surprised whisper rang in my ears. I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. Stupid Fujisaki cross-dresser.

"I studied."

Silence.

"What's wrong? Can't someone like me take the initiative to study for a class that they're failing?" I whispered crossly over my shoulder.

"I-I guess." Came the shocked response.

We didn't talk all that much for the rest of school. I guess he was still trying to process what I told him. Me plus studying equals warning signs. Shocker, right? But my parents didn't fight yesterday, which meant peace and quiet, which meant I could study, which meant I could actually get a good grade in this class! A+ here I come!

* * *

I made my way out of school and to the elementary school all in one piece. I mean, it's not a military school or anything, but when you find out Tsukasa is principle of all three schools (Seiyo Elementary School, Seiyo Middle School, and Seiyo High School), you tend to make some… interesting scenes.

"_Mashiro-san, I've noticed today that you've made quite an effort in class today."_

"_I studied."_

"_Well, that's good news, but why not before."_

"_It was too noisy at my house." I told sensei half the truth._

"_Oh, is it noisy now?"_

"_No. That's why I studied." She gave me a 'And…?' look like she wanted me to say something more, but I put on a poker face. She was giving me general questions, so I was giving her general answers._

"_I see. I guess Tsukasa isn't that crazy into making his schools slaves or anything."_

_I stared at her. "What?"_

"_Well, he does supervise all three schools."_

_I will kill him._

Not really, but I will find a way to make him suffer before he makes all of us into dead brained servants. Oh wait, he already did. Last year.

"Oww!" I had bumped into someone in the hallways and fell back on the floor.

"Sorry." Said the person who I bumped into and helped me up. She looked like a high schooler because she was quite tall. She had short cornflower blue hair sticking out of an artistic Alice blue beret. Her eyes were the same colour but a little darker. She wore a female high school blazer but wore blue pants and black Mary Janes. On her should was a matching Alice blue bag shaped like a spade.

"M-M-Miki?" I asked, so shocked to see her, I almost fell back down.

"Well, everyone at the high school calls me Miki Hinamori, but Miki's fine." She replied with a small smile.

"MIKI!" I saw Amu running over. "I told you, you have to pick up both Suu and Ran. You can't just wonder away like that."

"Amu?" I asked in awe.

"No! It's not what you think, I―"

"It's okay Amu, I know. Kusukusu is human too." I stopped her before she started having another spaz out.

She sighed in relief. "So I'm not the only one having this problem then." Miki seemed slightly offended with that comment but she didn't say anything.

"Where's that other charas?"

Amu gave me a nervous grin. "Dia's coming from the high school right now, and I have to pick the others from classes R3A and R2B."

I nodded. "I have to get Kusukusu from R4A."

Amu nodded and said before we departed, "Don't forget the Guardian Meeting."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." I replied sarcastically.

* * *

About a few minutes later, Kusukusu and I made our way to the Royal Garden. It's been one summer and one month since I'd been here, and I wasn't particularly excited to come back. But Kusukusu was.

"Wow, Rima! It's so great to come back here, just like old times, don't cha think?"

"Sure does," I grumbled.

We entered the green house garden, but if I wasn't looking where I was going, I would have bumped into someone again.

Everyone was at the entrance, just staring in-front of them. I pushed through the clump of bodies and freed myself from the crowd, when I too stopped in shock.

Tsukasa had officially lost it.

No not an item.

I mean he's lost his common sense. Though I wonder what made me think he was even born with it in the first place.

There was a huge plasma TV at the very front of the table where we used to have tea. But even the table was replaced; a long white table that could have fit 50 people was accompanied by 28 chairs, laptops for each chair, a giant printer, fridge and microwave.

"TSUKASA!" Yaya screamed loud and clear as a siren. "You're killing the Earth!" Right, her parents sent her to a camp about being Eco-friendly to the world over the summer break.

"Not true, dear Ace." Tsukasa seemed to pop out of no where and directed all of us inside. I recognized a lot of people and their charas. Like Utau, Il and El, Ikuto and Yoru, Amu, Miki, Ran, Suu and Dia, Kukai and Daichi, Musashi and Kairi, Yaya and Pepe, Tadase and Kiseki, Rikka and Hotaru, Hikaru and… someone I didn't know. Probably his chara. I tried to guess who this person might represent, but I didn't find anything particularly strange. He looked normal. Then it hit me. Hikaru's dream was to be a… normal boy?

"Everyone sit down, and I will explain everything."

"Yaya will not unless you explain why you are intentionally KILLING THE EARTH!" Yaya looked beyond mad. And that was saying something. She usually just pouted at the most because of sugar rushes and destroyed things for fun without realizing it, but this time she looked angry.

"Yes, Tsukasa." Utau hissed. "Tell us why our charas turned into annoying little sisters," she glanced over at El who was twirling around in a puffy skirt but wore a normal elementary jacket. "Or older sisters." She pointed at Il who was busy texting on a phone (probably Utau's) in a normal high school blazer but an extremely short black mini-skirt and wore fishing net stockings plus blood red high heels.

"Or younger brothers," Ikuto continued in a disguised threatening voice as he patted a cos-play cat boy, Yoru, who was about his height but obviously in high school

"Or older brothers," Kairi twitched as he mentioned Musashi in his ponytail hairdo, wearing a middle school uniform but with strange sandals.

"All will be revealed in time," Tsukasa smiled.

"NOW!" We all screamed.

"Yes, then sit down. First of all, Yaya, the electronics are solar-powered, so relax."

Yaya let out a sigh of relief. "Let us begin."

We took our seats. I sat beside Amu, on one side, and Kusukusu on the other. But something felt out of place. Was someone missing?

"Hey, where's Nagihiko and his charas?" Amu suddenly asked. Well, now I know.

"I think he went home because he was feeling sick," Tadase guessed. "He did say during math class he wasn't doing too well."

Amu nodded and everyone waited for Tsukasa to explain.

"Now, has anyone heard of the Wish before?"

Everyone blinked. I sighed and tuned myself out and started to daydream of different gag manga I could write when I grew up.

* * *

"So in conclusion, everyone is in this situation because one of the people in this room felt insecure enough to use their Wish when it came out."

Dead silence.

I shrunk in my seat.

Then everyone turned to face Amu.

"What?"

"Well, you did give birth to four charas because you were having difficulty in your personalities, Joker." Kairi summed up for her.

"N-no way! You all think this is my fault! How could I do this! I would never…"

"Yes, you would." Everyone said except for me. I felt slightly guilty that my best friend was being accused of my actions, but if everyone found out I wished for this by accident, who knows what worse things they'd do?

"Well, that's it for today folks! I'll text message everyone later to find another good time for a meeting."

"Yupee," I replied sarcastically.

"DUDE!" Suddenly, Daichi jumped on the table.

"What now, Daichi?" Kukai rubbed his forehead.

"It's almost FREAKING SEVEN O'CLOCK!"

Then Kukai's eyes lit up as well. "No way! We'll miss it!"

"… miss what, Kukai?" Utau asked with a puzzled look.

"FIFA WORLD CUP!" They screamed to the top of their lungs.

"Fifa... world… cup?" Utau said in such a confused way, it was hard not to laugh at her.

"NO WAY, DUDE! Your chick _doesn't even know_ what FIFA WORLD CUP IS?" Daichi practically yelled in Kukai's ear so loudly, it looked like he might have gone deaf. Kukai blushed at _your chick_.

"No, I'm sorry," Utau bit her lip and looked like she was going to cry. Fake tears of course. I know from experience.

"Well, then, we'll show her!" And in seconds, Kukai and Daichi had dragged Utau away with Il and El running after them.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed Kusukusu by the collar. "We should be heading home too. My parents might get mad at me for staying after school too long."

And we were out of there.

* * *

"It's been a long time, hasn't it Rima-chan?" Kusukusu paused from her walk back and forth on the carpet.

"Yeah," I mumbled. My parents weren't home yet, and it was almost ten. They were always home before six, never later than seven. But something must have happened today. Traffic? Work? Accident? I tired to think of excuses to make me believe they hadn't left me.

"W-what if they don't come back, Kusukusu?" My voice shook a bit.

"They will come back Rima! I know they will! Because it's our job to make them happy, remember?" Kusukusu insisted. "They'd never leave you. They still love you with all their heart."

I almost didn't believe her. "I guess that's why they aren't here, huh?" My voice was an octave lower, so cold and strange, it scared me to hear myself.

Kusukusu looked at me with a worried face. "I can sense their emotions through you, Rima. What you saw yesterday, was what they wanted to be. That's their true selves, but it's hidden by all their hatred and insecurities. They are hideous on the outside, I know Rima, but they want to be those loving people you saw yesterday. Rima, there's still hope."

I nodded, still taking everything in. Then my stomach rumbled.

"Aren't you hungry, Rima?' I shook my head defiantly. I wanted to wait for my parents to come home so I could eat with them, in a _normal_ and _peaceful_ manner.

Suddenly, I heard shouts and door slamming outside.

Hooligans, I thought and grabbed my cell phone, ready to call 911 if I had to get rid of them. I walked over to the window and almost dropped the phone. My dad was holding a knife. My mom was screaming at him with a liquor bottle in her hand. They were swearing and saying all kinds of things that didn't make any sense. I called the police.

But just as I closed the phone, my dad began to make his way with the knife to my mom. My muscles tensed, and before I knew what I was doing, I ran out the door and screamed, "Don't touch her, DAD!"

He turned around and I saw his blood-shot eyes look at me like a piece of bacon. At that very moment, I knew I was dead meat.

"What do you want, brat?" His hoarse words slurred in a strange way, and I knew both my parents were drunk.

"I said, don't kill her!" I yelled. "You promised once you'd never hurt anyone!"

"You stupid bitchy girl!" He laughed. "She's the liar here!"

"What are you talking about?" I swallowed my fear.

"She's the one who's been cheating on me when she was supposed to be working over time!" He laughed like a mad scientist.

"Rima," Kusukusu said beside me, "He's telling the truth."

"No way," I whispered. My perfect family was ruined.

"Now to finish off the things I started!" And the knife lung towards my mother at such a speed, I had hardly any time to scream.

But somehow, the knife never touched my mother. It never did. Was it an angel who saved her? No. Because angels don't bleed red blood. Nor does any demon. But a girl with stringy orange-blonde hair with a clown hat does. Not her hair and cloths were tainted with this blood red colour I cried to see.

"NOO!" I broke into a run and scooped up Kusukusu with all the strength I could muster. "BASTARDS!" I yelled as I kicked the man who tried to hurt my chara. Head lights and sirens could be heard, coming this way. The man who I will never accept as my father, and the woman who I will never accept as my mother, fled from the scene as I ran away in the opposite direction.

Everywhere I went, the lights were off, the cars weren't there, the house looked empty. Everywhere I looked, it was deserted.

_Please_, I pleaded to whoever listened. _Save Kusukusu. Please save her. She doesn't deserve to die!_

I ran as fast as my short legs could carry me. The throbbing of my heart and pounding of my muscles didn't stop me. I waved the ache in my lungs and pain from my bones away. The red liquid damping my clothes and tainting my pajamas didn't bother me. The heavy body on my back and staving stomach mad me desperate each corner I turned. But I didn't care. Kusukusu wasn't going to die. And I was going to make sure of it, because I've just started to get to know her.

* * *

I found myself at a huge mansion with a million lights and lamps all hung at the entrance. A huge gate divided my from the door, but I didn't care. I kicked the gate a few hundred times before a tall girl with long black hair and sea green eyes came to the door.

"Doesn't anyone ever read the sign anymore? We don't want to be disturbed…" But she brought her hands to her mouth to stop herself, then she opened the door and called, "BAAYA! Get as many maids as you can! We've got a problem!"

An old woman appeared and asked "What's wrong this time, Tierra? Found another stray puppy, have we now?" But the old woman's eyes opened in surprise.

"What's going on?' A girl with basket ball pajamas and long flowing purple hair came over and looked at us. Then her eyes widened. "Rima! Kusukusu!"

Great, it was stupid grape-headed cross-dresser freak. Just my luck.

"You know these two, young master?" Baaya asked in wonder.

"She's a friend." Nagihiko answered. But my vision began to blur, my exhaustion began to come back to me, and the next thing I knew, my weight was too much for me to bear.

"RIMA!" Nagihiko screamed.

Everything went downhill from there. Literally.

* * *

**Piggy-chan: CLIFFIE! MWAHAHAHA! Oops, mad-scientist side overtook there.**

**Rima: You're cruel.**

**Piggy-chan: Thank you :d I like being evil... sort of.**

**Rima: You hardly mentioned Nagihiko here too.**

**Piggy-chan: YEAH? WELL YOU TRY HAVING A MOM WHO WANTS YOU TO HAND WASH EVERY PEICE OF FURNITURE IN YOUR HOUSE, LEARN HOW TO COOK, LOOK AFTER A CRAZY BABY BROTHER AND KILL EVERY EARWIG YOU FIND IN YOUR HOUSE!**

**Rima: What about earwigs?**

**Piggy-chan: *sigh* My house is infested with earwigs. They're everywhere! I found one on my tooth brush this morning!**

**Rima:... Eww.**

**Piggy-chan: I KNOW. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chappie ^w^ I tried to be as descriptive as i could, but since i've never felt the way Rima experienced, I had to imagine somewhat.**

**Rima: Still, Nagihiko wasn't really mentioned.**

**Piggy-chan: Well, then you'll see next chappie. Cuz you're going to be at Nagi's house next time you wake up!**

**Rima: ... You're evil.**

**Piggy-chan: ^-^ I know. You told me.**

**Rima: Can we PLEASE skip Character Spinner?**

**Piggy-chan: ... well my hands are sorta tired-**

**Rima: HALLALUJA! Till next time!**

_-NW_ :3


	4. Some Things Will Never Change

**Piggy-chan: I wanna say it.**

**Rima: That you're stopping the fanfic?**

**Piggy-chan: No...**

**Rima: Damn it!**

**Piggy-chan: Can I say it now...?**

**Rima: Uh, sure, but i have no idea what you're talking about...**

**Piggy-chan: THE DUTCH LOST! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Spaniards... even though I'm distantly related to them... I really wanted Netherlands to win the world cup... :(**

**Rima: OH! You're talking about FIFA world cup...**

**Piggy-chan: Yes, genius. Anyways, I don't own anything!**

**Rima: Except Tierra and Neige. You'll see.**

_-NW_ :3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings!**

Chapter Three

Some Things Never Change

* * *

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was this huge basket ball player poster on the ceiling. I mean, seriously, it's enormous! It almost filled half of the ceiling area. Not that I had a problem with it, it was just kind of disturbing to see this sweaty guy with an angry and determined look bouncing this ball in mid air as he's about to shoot.

I twisted my head a little, but found that it was painful to move. I must have lied here for a long time to have my neck stiff. I moved my whole body as best as I could, but it was hard, because suddenly, my body felt like the weight of an elephant.

"So, you're up?"

I eyed my surroundings in alarm to find the voice. Nagihiko was standing at the doorway, with this worried face.

"Yes," I croaked. It felt really weird. My voice was all craggy and shaky and my body felt like it weighed a ton. My head spun a few times before I eventually re-adjusted them to Nagihiko.

"Are you okay?" His words sounded distant. I focused on his voice.

"I feel strange."

"Bet you do."

"What's with the poster?"

"What are you talking about?" He sounded offended. "That's Japan's best known basketball player!"

The only thing I thought to say was, "He need's a shower."

He laughed. "I wonder how you can still make jokes at a time like this. You've been gone for a day and a half."

My eyes widened. I've blacked out for a day and a half? How was that possible?

"Why are you here?" I asked in a dry tone.

"Why?" He mimicked and began to laugh. It was funny to see him laugh. He clutched his stomach and his eyes were shut. But he smiled a giant smile and made noises that sounded like they had a beat to them. Wait, I'm supposed to hate him! Right, just observing the enemy. That's all I'm doing. Observing. "You're at _my_ house! You mean, why are _you_ here!"

I tried to recall last night's events, but my head hurt to remember anything at the moment. "I don't remember too much. Tell me." I demanded.

He laughed a bit more, then said, "We found you at the gate of our house. You must have been really desperate or something, because you actually dented the gate from kicking it so much at that force. You and Kusukusu were bleeding so we let you in, but just as you did, you fell unconscious from the exhaustion, stress and blood-loss. What happened?'

Then I really did remember everything. The two people I resented as parents, both drunk, one cheated and the other tried to murder. "I don't know. I can't remember too well" I lied. He didn't look satisfied with that look, but he nodded.

My ex-parents, the police, no dinner, and Kusukusu. Wait! Where's Kusukusu!

I sat myself up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, but just as I pulled myself up, I fell down. My legs couldn't take my weight, it was almost like using stilts from a circus for the first time.

"What are you doing?" Nagihiko asked me as he picked me up like I was nothing more than a feather.

"I have to see Kusukusu!" I struggled up again, but Nagihiko wouldn't let me go. "She's fine! Relax, Rima, aren't you tired?"

"No!" I stubbornly refused.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"No!" And as if on queue, my stomach growled with starvation.

He chuckled. "Sure, I'll get some food for you."

"Not until I see Kusukusu!" Yes, I know. I'm plain stubborn. But I have to at least acknowledge the person who saved my ex-mother was alive from the blow.

"What are you so persistent about?" Nagihiko gave me an anxious stare.

"I just want to make sure with my own eyes if she's okay." I pulled myself up, steadied my body and began to walk forward, stumbled a bit and tripped over a book lying in the middle of the effing floor. Nagihiko laughed. Stupid book.

"You can't even walk two meters in-front of you! Resting would be the best choice."

"Then get your lazy butt off of your bed and help me!" I snapped angrily.

He did as I told him and let me pressure my weight on him. He guided me through corridors and halls that confused me by the second. It felt like a maze in here! Finally, we reached a door painted white, Nagihiko opened it, and I saw Kusukusu lying on a bed inside.

I rushed over to her, ignoring the throbbing of my aching heart. I checked her wrist for pulse, and sighed. She really was alright. Her pulse was normal, and the blood was gone from her clothes. Actually, she wasn't even wearing her little costume anymore. I wasn't wearing my pajamas either. Someone must have changed them for us.

While thinking about it, I heard Nagihiko sit down beside me, and I glanced at Kusukusu once again. She slept like an angel. She was so peaceful looking and breathed slowly under the covers. I noticed her left arm was bandaged tightly.

_The knife_, I thought. I remembered everything she did. She saved my ex-mother' life. She saved it for her own. And the question that bothered me the most was, _Why?_ Why had she saved me, knowing they'd never get along in the beginning? Why?

"Because there's still hope, remember?" Kusukusu's eyes were open, she must have been telepathic or something, because she placed her hand on mine and stated, "Remember how badly you wanted your perfect family?"

"Yes," I chocked. My tears welled up in my eyes, ready to explode.

"Rima-chan, I understand how much you wanted it. And when your dad was about to… to hurt her, I just couldn't allow it."

But then, something inside of me… just snapped.

"Are you kidding me?" I roared suddenly. "How could you believe in all this time that it was still possible? They will never change! I've tried millions of times, those perfect parents the other day just felt so fake! That's why… I…"

I felt a loss for words. Kusukusu risked her human life to give mine a second chance to start over. I don't know how to take this, but I realized, this is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Other than Amu who cheered me up and possibly at times, Nagihiko, who had risked his life to save me from X eggs or those kinds of things.

"Rima, you can't let your spirit be crushed just because of a dispute, or a wound." She pulled her hand out of mine and put it against my cheek, wiping away tears I hadn't noticed before. "Taking chances is the only way to live your own life. It's the only way to get what you want from it. Happiness is something you'll have to fight for in your life, Rima. But I've given you strength." She let out a choky breath. "Keep smiling… Rima."

She lowered her hand and closed her eyes. "I'm tired."

I roughly cleaned the rest of the tears away with my fore-arm and pulled the covers over her. "You should sleep then." And my answer was greeted by light snores.

"What was that all about?" I had completely forgotten about Nagihiko.

"Nothing," I mumbled. He gave me a look but didn't object. I pulled myself up and it felt easy enough to walk without support. Maybe Kusukusu did give me strength.

* * *

I walked into the dining room with Nagihiko who was trying to explain where everything was.

"So Sleeping Beauty and her prince have arrived, huh?" A girl in a maid dress with long flowing black hair and sea green eyes sat on a chair eating what looked like lunch.

"Tierra…" Nagihiko looked ready to throw a brick at her.

"Okay, okay. Take it easy, it was just a joke!" Tierra held up her hands in surrender.

"How many times does Baaya have to tell you? You can't eat at the family dining room if we have guests!" Nagihiko pointed to the door. "Your sister never does these kinds of things! Why do you?"

She rolled eyes as she picked up her empty plate and cup. "Because the Earth is stubborn and solid―"

"Just like you." Nagihiko continued. "But honest to God, you don't always have to be like that, even if your name means the earth in Spanish."

"Yeah, and Neige's name means snow in French. So it's not entirely my fault if she's delicate and pale as a snowflake."

She walked up to us and gave me a wink and a smile, "I hope your feeling better, I got scared out of my wits that Nagihiko might have done something to you…" Nagihiko gave her an I'll-send-you-to-Hell look and Tierra turned around and fled.

"She has a sister?" I glanced at Nagihiko who gave a tired nod.

"They're twins, actually, but exact polar opposites. Neige follows every order, rule, command and request. Her sister _breaks_ every order, rule and disobeys every command and request."

I giggled.

"What?"

"You sound like some grown up person trying to take care of everything." I pointed out.

He shrugged. "When you're destined to take over the Fujisaki fortune, it's not like you have a choice."

I didn't really understand that, but my stomach growled hungrily. Nagihiko chuckled.

"Looks like you need to eat." I didn't object.

* * *

I've never eaten so much in my life. The Fujisaki household cook almost fainted from all my requests. Nagihiko could have died laughing, while I had a bunch of the maids and servants of the household cheering me on. Tierra, the loudest of all, kept shouting "I bet all my life's work of yen that no one her size can even match!" Which always made me choke from laughing. A girl with snow white hair and ice blue eyes, Neige, her sister, stood beside her, clapping and cheering politely.

But I have to admit, everything started to feel right. These people could make my world turn upside down. And after a while, I forgot how sad I was. Just a little bit. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I envied Nagihiko. His world was so happy. I wish I had a world like that.

I placed my fifteenth bowl of Udon noodles next to my three empty plates of sushi, which was beside a clean basket of buns and Taiyaki, stacked with seven bowls of fried rice.

I patted my stomach while Tierra pushed her way over to the table and counted all the empty bowls, trays and what not.

"HOLY CRAP SLIPPERS!" Tierra exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear above the cheering and yelling. "Twenty freaking six!" And the crowd went wild.

I smiled. I glanced at my shoulder where Kusukusu would be, laughing her butt off, but all that was there was an empty space. I frowned. Even though she was annoying… I missed her a lot. Maybe I should tell her what happened today. I'm sure she would get a kick out of it.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Suddenly the cheering died out and the crowd parted before two people. One was an old woman I'd seen yesterday. Baaya, I think that's what Nagihiko called her. And the other was a pretty woman with maroon-ish purple hair tied in a bun and caramel coloured eyes. She wore a kimono and reminded me a bit of Temari. She looked furious.

"Back to work." She muttered and everyone scuffled out of the small kitchen. I felt myself shiver as I saw her examine the empty bowls. I felt like some inspector had come and if there was something she didn't like about me, I would be executed or something.

"Did you eat all of this food, child?"

I refused to look her, so I stared at my feet. In the corner of my eye I saw Nagihiko pulling at his purple hair nervously.

"Y-yes?" My voice quivered. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eat all of it. I was really hungry, and I couldn't help myself. Don't blame Nagihiko. I was just… I'm sorry!" I bowed my head as low as it could go.

"Child…" I looked up and saw her smiling face. "I'VE FINALLY FOUND A COMPETATOR!"

Nagihiko burst out laughing.

Okay… I have to say but, I did _not_ expect that reaction.

"So you're not mad that I…"

"Of course not, child!" She laughed.

Baaya spoke up. "Mistress eats a lot more than you do, child." Then she began to laugh as well. "You are truly a strange but interesting child."

"Uh… thank you?" I didn't know if I should have taken that as a compliment.

"Child, what is your name?"

I looked up to see everyone had finished laughing. "I'm uh… Mashiro Rima."

"Mashiro-san, it is nice to have someone like you in the household." Baaya smiled and the lady nodded approvingly. Nagihiko grinned and I felt a surge inside myself to beam.

"Just call me Rima." I was beginning to love it here.

"Rima, I'm Nagihiko's mother, and this is the caretaker, Baaya." I bowed. I know that sounds a little too formal, but I felt like this was some kind of necessity.

"Rima-chan, please, we would like to know, what happened yesterday?" Suddenly, my heart felt like a load of bricks.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't remember." My face darkened.

"Is there anything we could do for you? Maybe if we call your parents―"

"No. That won't be necessary." I got up and walked out of the room leaving three shocked people.

* * *

For the rest of the day, I stayed in the guest room and watched over Kusukusu, sometimes recovering her with the blanket, cleaning her wound, or just watching her mumble in her sleep. I sat against the opposite wall of her, holding my knees against my chest in my ball position, wondering what she did to deserve this. She risked her life for my dream of a perfect life. My dream of a happy life. My dream of a happy family. A smile, a laugh, a perfectly beautiful world. She had hope. I had hope. She was born from that hope. The hope of that perfect world being possible to make into reality. To make everything okay again. I hugged my knees and nestled my head in them. I found my dream and my goal. But I lost half of myself getting here. The perfect world I wanted to be in was here all along. Just with the wrong people. We were here, and I had everything I wanted. But I felt like a missing puzzle piece was missing from all of this. Kusukusu was.

I crawled over to Kusukusu and buried my head in her chest. I began to cry.

"Kusukusu, don't die. I'm sorry. I really am." I whispered into the blanket. But just as I suspected, she didn't get up and hug me, or tell me a joke to cheer me up. "Please don't die. I wouldn't just stop laughing if you did. I'd just die completely. So please…" I cried so hard, I heard myself screaming. The world would stop spinning to me if Kusukusu disappeared.

"Um… Rima?" I didn't look up, but from the pressure from my shoulder, I knew it was Nagihiko. "It's late. You should get to sleep."

"Lemme go." I muttered. "Go 'way, purple-head."

"She'll be okay, Rima. I know she'll wake up."

"Prove it."

He chuckled. "I'm not a doctor or anything, but the wound is healing, so it'll be okay."

I pulled my head off of the covers and wiped the remaining tears. My eye lids felt heavy, and my hair was a cascade of knots.

"I hope you're right." I sighed.

"You're not the only one in the dumps. Rhythm refused to come out of his room."

I felt the corners of my lips turn upward a bit. "I feel sorry for him."

Nagihiko just laughed some more. "My mom told me I should let you stay in my room since we don't have anymore guest rooms left."

I whipped around and almost yelled, "No. Way. I'm not staying in your room―"

"Or you could stay in the attic."

"I'll take the attic." Here's a tip. When asked to either stay in a certain purple-headed cross-dresser's room or the attic, always, _always_ take the attic. Even if you have a fear of ghosts. _Always_ choose the attic.

He led me back to his room. "What are you…?" Then he pulled a door in the ceiling that I hadn't noticed before.

"The attic's in my room." He replied and began to climb the stair ladder. Just as I was about to follow, I noticed in the corner of the room was a guitar. I raced over and picked it up. It looked new and shiny, like no one had ever used it, yet it was dusty. I sneezed.

"Rima-chan?" He stuck his head out the hatch in the ceiling so it looked like his head was upside down. His hair flew down like a purple mop. I laughed.

He gasped. "You laughed!"

"No I didn't. Shut up."

"Hey," He began to come down the ladder. "What are you doing?'

"I didn't know you played the guitar."

"I don't." He sat down beside me. "But my dad played it for me once. A long time ago."

"What happened?" I was suddenly curious about his dad. I've never seen him before, just heard of him.

Nagihiko's eyes saddened. It hurt a bit to see him like that. "Com'on. I'll show you." He led me up into the attic.

When I poked my head out, I'll be honest. I expected to see a dusty attic with cob webs in every corner. Maybe card board boxes that hadn't been opened in years, but instead, I was looking at a little girl's room. It had pink wallpaper with flowers and a carpet that was similar to green grass in a grove. A small window reminded me of those windows you'd see in a church. Ones with pictures of lambs or angels. This one had pretty blue flowers that shimmered in the moon light. There was white furniture everywhere. The room looked like it belonged to someone really special.

"What…?"

"This room was supposed to be for my sister." Nagihiko was sitting on a white bed with pink bed sheets in the corner of the room.

"You mean Nadeshiko?" I teased.

"No." Nagihiko's bangs covered his face so I couldn't tell what he was feeling. I realized he wasn't in a teasing mood so I brought the guitar with me and sat next to him on the bed.

"Who?"

He twirled a blue flower in between his fingers. The moonlight reflected off the pretty flower behind us. "When I was about six, my mom announced that I was going to have a sister. We were going to name her Nadeshiko so she could take over the dancing and I could live the rest of my life as a boy. My parents were so excited. Especially my dad. He really wanted a daughter."

The flower fell from his hands and on the grassy green carpet.

"What happened?" I was afraid I knew the answer.

"It was a miscarriage." He said flatly. But if you listened hard enough, I started to hear his voice tremble.

"He called me a curse. My dad thought I was bad luck. He never spoke to me again. He ignored my very existence. My mom didn't like it, so one day, she told him to leave. And he did. He left the house without a second glance."

A small drop landed on one of the petals of the blue flower. I didn't need to check if I was right, I knew Nagihiko was crying.

Then something weird happened next. Nagihiko hugged me. In normal situations I would have yelled at him than pulled him off. But all his emotions made me feel like we had some kind of… understanding.

Then it must have been some kind of reflex, but I hugged him back. He had hugged me from the side so all I could do was hug his arms while he rested his head on the shoulder closest to him. I had always thought he had a perfect life. But really, he was just getting over the nightmare he lived in the past. I didn't realize how hard his life was on him, and I wouldn't have if I kept being so dense. But just as much as I was hurting, he was just healing.

"That's why every time you called me and idiot or other names," he whispered in my ear between chokes. "I felt like I needed an explanation. My dad always insulted me for no reason. It bothered me to know why you were the same."

I felt guilt get to me. "Sorry," I murmured with a sigh.

"Why?"

"Because you made me feel weird and you were getting too close to Amu." But I realized he wasn't talking about why _I_ hated him He was wondering why his _father_ hated him. "I'm sorry." I repeated. "Looks like we both have parents who hate our guts, huh?"

"Yeah," He broke away and wiped his tears. "Sorry, I didn't―"

"It's okay," I gave him a small smile. "I just owed you, that's all."

He chuckled and headed for the stair ladder. But before he left, he laughed, "Rima-chan's blushing!"

I ran over and slammed the hatch door on his head, heard the successful thud on the ground (his body hitting the floor) and laughed evilly.

"Oww, Rima-chan~! That hurt…"

Yeah, some things will never change.

* * *

**Piggy-chan: Thought I'd make them kiss, huh?**

**Rima: Thank God she didn't.**

**Piggy-chan: Oh no, that doesn't mean I'm not going to make them. Rima just needs time to bond with him first ^-^**

**Rima: Oh NO. No nonononononononononononono!**

**Piggy-chan: Too bad. I've already decided it! MWAHAHAHAHA! Geez, i think Tadase's character change is starting to rub on me T.T**

**Rima: Why did you bring in OCs?**

**Piggy-chan: Cuz I wanted some people to be recognised from all those emloees of the Fujisaki household. Their minor characters. Don't worry. ^w^**

**Rima: Later alligators.**

**Piggy-chan: They're not reptiles T.T;; And thankies for all who reviewed! LOVE YOU ALL TOO MUCH!**

**Rima: Hey. Hey you. That's right, you there. I'll use my awesome Rima-powers on you if you don't review. Seriously, just click. One little click. Scroll down. Pretty right? Pretty bright blue button. Click!**

_-NW_ :3


	5. I'm Not Safe, But I'm Not Afraid

**Piggy-chan: Heey everyone!**

**Rima: Wow, this took you a looong time to update.**

**Piggy-chan: I KNOW! I'M SORRY!**

**Rima: yeah, whatever.**

**Piggy-chan: HEEHEEHEE!**

**Rima: Uh... you sound happy-**

**Piggy-chan: Ask me why I'm happy!**

**Rima: Why'd I want to do that-**

**Piggy-chan: JUST DO IT MORON!**

**Rima: OKAYY! Why are you happy?**

**Piggy-chan: I WENT TO HMV AND FINALLY GOT LIGHTS' DEBUT ALBUM "THE LISTENING"!*screams in fan-girl mode***

**Rima: ... say again?**

**Piggy-chan: No. Way. YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF LIGHTS?**

**Rima: Uh... no?**

**Piggy-chan: Well, for starters, HMVis a music/CD/Movie store or whatever, and Lights is a canadian singer/songwriter! She does Electropop, synthpop and new wave music genres, and SHE'S TOTALLY AWESOME! She most famous for her songs "Saviour", "Drive My Soul", "Ice" and "February Air". I know Justin Beiber is canadian and all (Though I really don't care, I'm not a lover or a hater, I'm nutral) but Lights just tops it all! Go to Youtube or something and find one of those songs! **

**Rima: Okay... can we just get on with the story?**

**Piggy-chan: *pouts* are you making fun of my number uno Idol?**

**Rima: No, I'm just trying to get the fanfic going.**

**Piggy-chan: Yeah, your right. But at a certain part of this chapter, go to youtube, find "Pretend" by Lights (Piano) - (Studio Version) It just brings more drama into the story ^-^**

**Rima: Yeah yeah, shut it already and Disclaimer! Piggy-chan doesn't own anything. Except for Wendy-chan who she made up.**

**Piggy-chan: HEEY! You made fun of her... she's supposed to be a pretty angel...**

_-NW_ :3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings!**

Chapter Four

I'm Not Safe, But I'm Not Afraid

* * *

"Mornin' Rima-chan."

I yawned, stretched my arms then opened my eyes. What I saw next made me scream and fall off the bed.

"N-Nagihiko!" His face had been so close to mine, I swear, he might have given me some kind of disease. Purple Disease. Wait, where have I heard that before? Hm... nah, whatever. I scrambled up and hid protectively behind the other side of the bed. He laughed.

"I'm not that scary, am I?" I glared at him.

"You're becoming like Ikuto." I muttered.

He rolled his eyes. "I came upstairs to tell you to wake up. School time."

"School…?" I said the word as if it were foreigner. I had almost forgotten. "What day is it today?"

Nagihiko pulled open the curtains of windows I hadn't noticed before, sun light flooded into the room immediately. Then he opened the windows and a warm yet refreshing breeze swept through the small attic. "It's Monday. Lucky you blacked out on the weekend."

Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I saw sparkles as he said that. The sun light touched his face like a soft golden mist. His amber coloured eyes shimmered with happiness I wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't told me how sad his life was yesterday. I rubbed my eyes hard and got up. "What now?"

"Well, breakfast I guess." He led me down the stair ladder and into the kitchen. I saw the cook, busily making food for everyone in the household and Tierra picking off bits of pancake from Neige's plate.

"Stop doing that Tierra!" Neige whined.

"I'm hungry though!" Tierra ran out of the kitchen with Neige at her heels, trying to strangle her.

"I thought Neige doesn't hurt people." I stared in horror as she came back with Tierra in a headlock.

"Only when you really get on her nerves." Nagihiko laughed as Tierra's face stared to turn colours I didn't think looked normal for a human being.

"Okay…I…" she chocked. "I'm sorry!" Tierra coughed out finally. The sky might have envied Tierra's face at the moment.

Neige let her go and Tierra took huge breaths like she just came out of the water.

"You almost… suffocated me… to death!" Tierra yelled.

"I know." Neige said with such an innocent face, it was shocking that her answer was acknowledgment to the whole situation. Neige took a plate with three pancakes and a cup of milk off of the counter and handed it to me.

"You could have killed you're only sister!"

Neige just smiled. But then her smile started to fade and she seemed to look very concentrated on the small TV in the kitchen.

"Mashiro-san…"

"Rima-chan," I corrected.

Neige nodded and pointed at the TV. "I dare say, but that lady looks very similar to you…"

I almost dropped my cup of milk. On the TV, there was a woman on a stretcher being put into an ambulance. She looked so different I almost didn't recognize her. She looked tired and all scratched up, like she had run from something dangerous like her life depended on it. Which was probably true. Her face was wrinkly and the make-up on her face was washed away. She was wet from the rain last night and her clothes where all muddy. The energy looked like it was drained out of her from running and her eyes were lifeless.

"_Mrs. Mashiro was found exhausted at a park on the west side of Tokyo. It is said her residence is on the East side. Police investigated the house and found nobody inside_." A reporter in-front of our house was talking while police were pushing all my neighbours and passer bys away from the place. Investigators and some police men investigated the spots where Kusukusu had gotten stabbed with the knife. Blood was stained on the grass, but most of it was washed away from the rain.

"_Just as the police arrived at the scene, two mysterious adults, most likely Mr. and Ms. Mashiro, disappeared into the bushes behind the house and into the forest._"

There was a blurry video playing on the screen and two shadowy figures dashed behind the house. But in the corner of the camera I saw a girl run off with an even smaller girl who was bleeding on her left shoulder. Luckily it didn't leave a trail.

The video played again but this time it stopped at the part with my and Kusukusu trying to get away, then zoomed in to get a closer look. "_These two run away girls are suspected to be the Mashiro's daughters. Mashiro Rima and Kusukusu. The smallest, Mashiro Kusukusu most likely, appears to be bleeding, yet no knife has been found. They disappeared without a trace. Mr. Mashiro is still missing. Please, if you encounter any one of them, report to the Tokyo police or call…_" The rest of the news faded away. My dad was still missing. My mom was at the hospital, and Kusukusu was injured badly. It's all my fault. If I hadn't wished for anything to happen, Kusukusu might still be my chara, I wouldn't be here and my life would have been okay. Even if my parents still fought, they wouldn't be at each other's throats.

"Rima…" the kitchen was silent except for Nagihiko who slowly turned away from the TV screen. "What happened that night…?"

I swallowed. "N-Nothing…"

"I guess that's why there's this news broadcast, right?" Nagihiko growled. Then he sighed. "Why are you so afraid to tell the truth, Rima?"

I frowned. What _was_ I afraid of? Why didn't I just tell them the truth? Is it because I didn't want them in my business, or because of something else?

Memories of the household yesterday flood my mind. No… it wasn't because I didn't want them in my business…

A smile.

"_Keep smiling… Rima."_

A compliment.

"_I'VE FINALLY FOUND A COMPETATOR!"_

A laugh.

"_I bet all my life's work of yen that no one her size can even match!"_

An understanding.

"_I felt like I needed an explanation. My dad always insulted me for no reason. It bothered me to know why you were the same."_

It was because of these things, I couldn't tell them. Because I wouldn't be able to bear the pain if I hurt this family too and all these things would fade away like the way it did in mine.

I would only ruin the happiness in this family. I had only one way to save them. I would have to lie.

"My parents g-got into a fight… and they were both drunk… so my dad wasn't thinking straight… and accidentally stabbed Kusukusu instead of my mom…?" I lied, but it came out like a question. Nagihiko sighed.

"We're going to skip school today. We're heading to the hospital."

"But we can't let anyone see me, or else the police would want to question me!" I grabbed his arm and told him truthfully, "I don't want anyone to know."

His shoulders sagged. "Rima, someone's going to realize you're here eventually. If the police are going to question you, just tell them the truth."

He just didn't understand how badly this could end up. "I… can't."

"Why not?"

"What if they take Kusukusu away?"

"They'd only do that if she were really sick." He confirmed.

I looked away and sighed. Might as well tell him half of the other reason I was scared. "Where… where will we stay if my parents aren't allowed to keep us?"

Nagihiko thought for a moment. "I… I don't know."

_Orphanage_, was all I thought.

"Tierra," Nagihiko held out some keys. "Can you drive us to Tokyo East Hospital?"

Tierra grinned. "Can do." She saluted, grabbed the keys and marched out of the kitchen.

"Neige, tell my mom or Baaya where we've gone and everything. We'll be home at around noon." Neige nodded and put my plate and cup in the sink.

Then he dragged me through a few halls before opening a door to something like a garage.

"My mom doesn't like using the car very often, but this is an emergency." Nagihiko grumbled and opened the door to a huge car. I hopped inside and gasped at the surroundings. It was like a mini limo!

"Wow…" I flipped on a whole bunch of switches and buttons, opened lids and pressed knobs like a little two year old.

Nagihiko chucked behind me and Tierra snickered at the wheel.

"Remember Tierra, under the speed limit, not over." Nagihiko said in a disguised distressed voice.

"Will do, Captain." She said sarcastically.

"Tierra, last thing I want is to get ticketed."

"Yeah, I heard you Mr. Worrywart. I'll be careful~!" She pushed the key into the slot, and within seconds, we were ripping through the highway.

"TIERRA!"

"Sorry, I can't help it!"

I was so scared for my life, it was like being in the world's fastest roller coaster, except for the wind because the windows were shut. I guarantee you, if we were in space, this speed would be called 'Light Speed'. And let me tell you, my friend, 'Light Speed' is pretty scary for someone like me.

Within two minutes, we were at Tokyo East Hospital, when it should have took, like half an hour.

"Tierra," I asked, trying to keep my heart pumping. "Do you have insurance?"

She stared at me like I had grown an extra head.

"What makes you think I even have my driving license?"

I'm the saddest little girl on the planet. No comments.

* * *

"Ms. Mashiro? She's on the fourth floor in room B2." A nurse told us. But she gave me a strange stare like everyone else in the hallway. I couldn't blame them. I mean, who wears a black wig, big black shades over their eyes, black top hat and a fake scar on their cheek? I would usually say, _not me_, but I _was_ wearing these things. Nagihiko said it was 'to cover my image' until 'necessary to take them off'. Tierra just laughed through the whole ordeal.

"I'm still voting we get out of here." I muttered.

Nagihiko looked at me in surprise. "I thought you'd want to know how your mother was doing!"

I looked at the floor so he wouldn't be able to see my face full of hatred. "Y-yeah… sure." I bit my tongue to keep myself from yelling all the disgusted thoughts that threatened to come out as words.

Nagihiko gave me another puzzled look before turning away and finding the room where my mother was being put.

"I'll come in with you," Tierra offered when I refused to go in.

I thought about it for a second, then realized if my mom said something about what happened the other night, Tierra or Nagihiko would discover I was lying. "You know, I'd like to have some time alone with my mom. J-just… you know, to sort things out."

They agreed.

I opened the door and stepped into the blinding white room. I had been dreading this moment ever since I ran away. Ever since they started arguing. Ever since fear replaced laughter in our family. Ever since I started believing there was no band-aid that could heal this cut that stung so badly.

I was mad. But I was scared even more than I was angry.

I squinted in the brightness. I covered my eyes, shielding them from the sunshine that reflected off the snow coloured walls.

A woman sat on her bed, her arms dangling out the window. She had pretty, but worn out blonde hair that hung on her shoulders and dripped off of her arms. She wore a hospital gown. She was smiling while breathing in the fresh breeze that blew the pearl white curtains in a swirl motion. Her hair blew around like the clothes she used to hang outside on the clothes hanger.

I could almost smell the petunias she used to plant in the garden, and the vegetables in the garden she would make into a refreshing salad.

"_Mama, make more! I'm super hungry!"_

_A little toddler scrambled over to the table in the small dining room. Her delicate tiny hands pulling at the chair arms, trying hard to climb the gigantic wooden chair. _

"_Honey-bun, let me help you." A young woman came and helped up her petite daughter. She giggled._

"_Mama, I'm not a honey-bun!"_

_Her mother ran her fingers through the youngling's wavy honey-coloured hair. "You will always be to me."_

"_I want honey in my salad!" The little girl cried._

"_Then let's add you!" Her mother scooped her up into a playful hug. "We'll have you for supper, right Ronald?"_

_A young man came into the dining room. He smiled. "Yes! Then we'll have a delicious supper."_

"_No!" The golden haired child whined. "I won't be yummy~!"_

_They all laughed._

"Mama…" I murmured. I wonder if she ever forgot about those days when we'd play tricks on each other, or tease each other then laugh because it was all so funny.

The woman slowly turned around, her face was a smile, but her eyes were dead as the laughter left in her heart.

"Wendy-chan…? Is that you?"

I stared at her. What…?

"Wendy, I thought you had drowned in the river…" My mother continued, sitting back on the bed.

Wendy… was my mother's childhood friend. Wendy-chan, as my mother called her, had a smile as bright as the sun and beautiful chocolaty hazel hair and big, soft brown eyes. She had drowned when they were both only fifteen, trying to rescue a toddler from drowning. My mother's eyesight must have been skewed in some way, because she didn't seem to recognize me. Then again, thanks to the disguise, nobody could recognize me.

I decided to play along. "Yes… it's me. I'm back."

She squinted at me and said, "I can't believe your voice changed so much. You drowned in that river trying to save that poor boy's life. Why have you come back?"

I swallowed. What was I supposed to do now?

"I suppose I'm close to death itself, isn't it? Have you come to tell me that?"

"Y-yes…?" I took the suggestion.

She sighed and motioned me to come forward. I did so and sat down on a chair near her bed. All those fights with dad had made her weary and left permanent frown lines on her forehead. She clasped my hand. I flinched. Her hand was ice cold. I didn't remember this strange feeling being near her. This numb coldness that encased her body now, it made me feel insecure. I felt like I was falling. Falling into something even colder than snow and ice. Something much colder and scary.

"Wendy-chan, you're just as warm and safe as you always were." She whispered without looking at me. I cocked my head, why wasn't she looking at me…?

"It's a shame I can't truly see how you look like once more, Wendy-chan." My mother sighed.

My eyes widened. She was blind.

"What happened to your eyes?" I asked in alarm.

My mother sighed again. "You should never hold grudges; that's what I learned in life, Wendy-Chan. Thankfully, you never had the chance to be cursed the way I was."

I scowled, was I a curse?

"Why is that?" I tried to say in a pleasant tone.

She closed her eyes. "Remember that boy, Ronald? When we were just kids, we used to make fun of each other. I hated him and he did the same."

My parents knew each other when they were kids? Well, this was something new. "Yes, I remember. He was annoying, wasn't he?"

"Oh yes, and you used to tease both of us, saying we'd be a good couple, remember?"

"Uh…" My mind went blank. "Y-yes…"

"After you… drowned… Everyone went on with their lives. I couldn't live another day without you. But I knew you'd be mad if I ended my life so soon, so I went on the finish high school and college. It wasn't until I turned twenty did my parents tell me they arranged a marriage for me to a person whom I didn't know."

I felt ashamed. This strange yet familiar woman was so far away from me even when she was my mother. My very own mother, the lady who pledged to stay by me no matter what, and guide me through the hard ships of life, yet there were things even _I _didn't know about her.

"That sounds… hard." I said in a soft voice.

She gave a shaky breath. "I didn't love him, but I knew I had to make things work if I were to get anywhere in life."

"That's not true!" I said in shock. "You could have refused, ran away, disappeared!"

But all she did was chuckle. "You're testing me, aren't you? You always told me running away from things wasn't going to make everything better. I wanted to prove to you I wasn't going to change, so I didn't. I stood my ground and accepted the arrangement. But when it was time for me to meet the man whom I would soon call my husband, guess who I found?"

"Ronald…" I murmured.

"Yes, and we accepted it. But we still didn't love each other. We only agreed to get along and act like husband and wife."

**(A/N: Okay play the song "Pretend" by Lights (Piano) - (Studio Version) that I said in the note above ^-^ If you want to!)**

I felt something sting my eyes. So she never did love dad…? "What about your daughter? Rima, did you ever love her?"

My mother stayed still for a while, just facing the bare white wall. She didn't open her eyes, and for a moment, I thought she was asleep. "I did…"

"Truly? I'm an angel, so I know if you're lying or telling the truth."

Her eyelids lifted and her eyes were misty with a strange bluish gray circle over her pupil. "Honestly, I am confused. I've never understood love. But I know it pained me to see Rima that day. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I was just so confused… I didn't know what to believe anymore." A clear drop of water slid down her cheek and dripped off her chin. More tears came, all slow and sad, just falling down. "I wish I could tell Rima I'm sorry… but I don't know if I have time for that."

My eyes watered. "Mom…" I slowly took off my glasses, the black top hat, and finally the wig, letting my honey-coloured hair tumble out. I got up and squeezed her hand.

"Rima…Honey-bun?"

"Yes…yes! It's me."

"Wendy-chan had you come here, didn't she?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, she did."

My mother patted my cheek with her hand. "Rima, I'm sorry. I wish I could have… given you a better life."

Salty water rippled like a creek in the spring time down my cheek and into the hold of my mother's hand.

"You know, I used to have an imaginary friend like you do. But she disappeared long ago, when I had stopped believing I could be free to choose my own path."

I blinked my heavy eyelids. She used to have a chara…?

"I do love you with all my heart, and I'm sorry I couldn't be better for you. My little friend stopped coming to see me when I closed up my world after Wendy-chan died. I was afraid I'd make a stupid choice, and I decided not to take anymore risks. I was scared, Rima. Until you were born, you showed me unbelievable strength. Please, promise me you'll keep believing in what you want the most in your life."

I caressed the hand on my cheek. After all this time I had hated my parents, I had just wanted them gone. But now… I wasn't so sure anymore. But with this apology… I felt whole again. Like I was never really alone. "Yeah… I promise."

She sighed. "You be a good girl for mommy, won't you Honey-bun?"

"Yes," I replied, realizing her hands were getting colder by the second. "Mom…?"

"It's time for me to go soon, Wendy-chan said so."

"No! You can't die!" I grasped her hand as the remaining warmth in her hand began to disappear.

"You can't stop death, Honey-bun. It's going to happen someday. Please, forgive me. I wish I could stay, but this is for the best."

Realizing there was nothing I could do, I sobbed into her lap like I had done when I was only a little kid. "Mama…"

"Please."

"I…I f-forgive you." I cried.

I lifted my head and saw her smiling face. Not the fake ones she'd flash at me, but the one that gave other people happiness just seeing it. The smile I wished for.

"Keep smiling for me…" Her voice was far away, her eyes fighting to keep open. "Rima…" And she was gone.

Her lifeless hand in my own, I screamed for my lost mother. The one person whom I'd come to believe in. Tears like a water fall, I mourned with screaming agony for her. I felt like a black cat, giving everyone bad luck. My life was too disastrous.

"Mama..." I whimpered. "Where are you Mama…?" I was still too young for her to leave me alone in the evil and cruel world.

My head sagged. "Where are you…?"

"_Where are you Mama, Papa? Help me... find me, someone!"_

_Ropes, mufflers and darkness encased the honey-colour haired girl._

_I'm so lost! Why won't anyone come find me? Is it because nobody cares? Because I'm alone? Why won't anyone come rescue me? The little girl cried but nobody heard, because no one listened._

I lifted my head to see a blinding light.

_'Your mother is here, small one.'_

I blinked, rubbed my eyes, then stared again. A very pretty girl with chocolaty hazel hair and big, soft brown eyes smiled at me that looked like the sun. Its warmth and joy melting away my sadness.

"Wendy-chan…?" I guessed in a whisper of a voice.

'_Yes. Your mother is safe, at last. Lost sheep should always be found by their shepherd. But that does not mean you have to be safe to be unafraid. Your mother's love, nor your fathers, has never left you. It says in your heart, but reformed as new love you will find, are finding, or have already found. You will discover challenges, however, only the souls with the biggest hearts will find a way through without bumping the obstacles down. But beware, the challenges you will face will be difficult. Your mother's strength, along with everyone who loves you, will be enough for you to live all of it through. Don't give up, youngling.'_

The beautiful girl spread her pure white wings out like a swan and began to fade. Before she was completely gone, her words lingered in the air. _'Please tell my niece I said hello when you meet her.'_

A sudden loud bang at the door sent my head shooting up from the blankets. Had I dreamed the whole thing up?

"Open up! This is the Tokyo Police!"

"I'm telling you officer, there is only my friend visiting her own friend's mother!" A voice outside the door insisted. Probably Nagihiko.

_But that does not mean you have to be safe to be unafraid._

I got up on my wobbly knees and walked over to the door. _I'm not safe_, I thought. I grasped the knob and twisted it so it opened. A flood of men came in with guns, as well as a purple haired boy and black haired girl. They were in shock, just like the police, but I only smiled with tears still in my eyes, trickling off my eyelashes.

But, "I'm not afraid anymore."

* * *

**Piggy-chan: I know, the music and the sadness was a little cheesy... but it just fit! Because Rima wishes she could go back in time and still laugh with her parents and her mom wishes she could go back and erase her mistakes in life. It's like midnight at my house, so I'm not thinking straight. Please forgive me if I did any mistakes and stuff!**

**Rima: You made my mom die!**

**Piggy-chan: Sorry, I know, It's all too sad. Don't worry though, It will get happier after this! PROMISEY!**

**Rima: Hope so, it all sounds a little too emo for MY taste.**

**Piggy-chan: Also, some parts of the fanfic is in italics. I'm sorry If you're confused. But I hate reading or putting 'Start of Flashback' and 'End of Flashback' it's so unnatural! So the italic parts is her flash back, the 'italics in single quot things' are the angels words through thoughts and... yeah... if you have questions, just ask.**

**Rima: And what was this about 'Say hello to my neice when you meet her'?**

**Piggy-chan: Weeell! You're going to have to keep reading to find out! ;D**

**Rima: Damn you-**

**Piggy-chan: LANGUAGE RIMA! Hasta Luego!**

_-NW_ :3


	6. Funerals, Some Are Sad, Some Are Crazy

**Piggy-chan: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but my crazy family has turned wild T.T ALSO! Ma friend Aquatwin (ugh, I'm going to drop the gangsta) agreed to draw/mostly colour drawings for my fanfic! TANK U Aquatwin! I'll post the websites of the drawings as soon as I can or Aquatwin can ^-^ I'm happy~**

**Rima: That's nice. Now, can we start?**

**Piggy-chan: Wait, I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed! I got freaking 27 reviews! *smiley***

**Rima: Wasn't there something else you wanted to say...?**

**Piggy-chan: Right! I'm sorry, but in the earlier chapters it stated that Amu wondered "Where is Nagihiko and his other charas" she doesn't know about Temari! Forgive me! Ugh, I so messed up! XP**

**Rima: Yes, you are a failure.**

**Piggy-chan: Shuddup. And Yaya... or Utau... or whoever isn't supposed to know doesn't either, so yeah. I also did Nagihiko's POV for the first time! YEAH! And the beggining is Rima's POV. I hope it's not too confusing T.T**

**Rima: Whatever. Piggy-chan doesn't own anything. Except for her OCs.**

**Piggy-chan: ENJOY!**

_-NW_ :3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings!**

Chapter Five

Funerals, Some Are Sad, Some Are Crazy

* * *

Funerals.

The first thing that comes to my mind is black. Sadness. Depressed people. _Dead_ people. Someone died. People cry. Tears. Anger. Anguish.

I hate funerals. This is exactly why my wish was to make people smile.

But who died this time? Right, my mom died.

I wish she was still here. I just started to like her. But I hope she's in a better place now.

Though I should be sad, I don't know what to feel.

All I know is that I'm not going to cry anymore.

Funerals, I hate them.

* * *

**Nagihiko's POV**

Funerals.

I've never been to one, but I already don't like them. Ugh, this suit is so itchy!

They're my new pet peeve. I hate funerals, they're too depressing. Not that I wouldn't come, Rima just was too weird this few days. She refused to come out of her room (the attic) and when I came up to see her, I found her staring out the stain-glass windows.

She didn't want a funeral, but her mother's friends arranged one. She refused to do a speech or any kind of big appearance.

Ever since the police broke into her mom's hospital room, she's been acting funny. Like every emotion was sucked out of her body. In fact, I haven't seen her smile for the past few days. And it's been giving me a heart-ache. I hate it when she's down. It hurts so much; I can't stop thinking about what's wrong.

So what did I do? Well, I tried to get her back to her normal devil-chibi self. How? The only way I can. I tried to annoy her more than usual. I tried to pull pranks on her, and it hasn't been working. She just gives me an unemotional stare, then walks away. I even brought her out to the garden and put a caterpillar on her hand! She should have freaked out, flicked it off, and beat me enough to be close to death. But she picked it up (yes, picked it up with her fingers! No gloves!), put it on one of the leaves on our apple-tree, and stared at me with the most poker face you could imagine! It almost freaked me out! See how messed up this is?

I saw a swarm of black darkness. A sea of black hats, shawls, scarves, jackets, dress shirts, suits, ties, bows, dresses, skirts, boots, gloves, and shoes were everywhere. Every single thing in the crowd was black! Like everyone went… emo. Like I said, I've never been to a funeral, but I hated to see everything so sad, yet I can see why it is. Rima's mom had died. Probably while Rima was talking to her, and the police even made sure her body wasn't bleeding or her blood stream wasn't intoxicated in case Rima might have killed her by making her get food poisoning or stabbing her. I mean, why in all of hell would she do something like that? What type of people are these police men?

Everyone was so sad. Everything going on _was_ sad.

Even _I_ was wearing black. My mom made me wear a black suit, and I just agreed because it was _Rima_'s mom's funeral. Otherwise, I would never have worn a suit. My mom, Tierra, Neige and the rest of the household were invited because Rima's mother's friends wanted to thank us for letting Rima stay at our household.

Rima's words from a few days before rang in my head.

'_Where… where will we stay if my parents aren't allowed to keep us?'_

Honestly, I was really scared Rima and Kusukusu would be put into orphanage. If that happened, they would be moving all the time from place to place, looking for someone to adopt them.

I shook my head to rid the thought. There had to be some way to let her stay!

All the bodies poured into the church. Everyone took a seat where ever there was space. Soon enough, all the seats were taken, so people stood and the ceremony started.

I don't want to disrespect anyone, but the funeral was awfully boring. I didn't particularly know Rima's mom very much, so I had no problem trying not to cry. I just felt empty. I looked around and recognized a lot of people. I saw Amu, her charas and parents and sister, Yaya, her parents and her brother with a little girl, who was probably Pepe, Tadase with his grandmother and Kiseki, Kukai with his five brothers, Daichi and his parents, Kairi, his sister and Musashi, and Utau with Il and El. Most of them were sad; the others were just plain bored.

I closed my eyes. I hadn't been able to find Rima anywhere.

"Before us today, Mashiro Rima has a few words to say in honor of her mother."

My eyes snapped open.

A very pale skinned girl stepped onto the platform before the coffin. Her hair was a faded caramel colour and her eyes looked amber when I knew it should have been the colour of honey. She wore a black mini-jacket and a puffy black gown that reached her knees. Her gloves and stockings were all made of lace. A bit of her hair was tied back with a black ribbon and she wore black high heels. I didn't realize who she was until I saw her face.

She was _really_ pretty. Scratch that, she was absolutely beautiful.

But all that black made her look sad and cold. Her expression was completely blank, though I knew she really didn't want to be up there. About five minutes must have passed, and not a word came from her. Finally, the preacher came up and excused her which she bowed her head and walked back to her seat without a word or a single facial expression. Others would think these as signs of grief, but I knew better.

She knows how to hide her emotions really well, and even I've felt difficulty trying to read her. But her flaw is her emotions show on her outsides, usually her eyes. Her sadness, her joy, her hurt, her worry, her everything. When she laughs and smiles, it's like everything about her smiles and shines, and when she cries, she looks so vulnerable and fragile, it's hard to resist the feeling to protect her.

"God bless her soul."

Wait, what? I looked up at the preacher and realized the ceremony was over and the coffin was closing. Did I just daydream the entire few hours when I was supposed to be listening? _Ah, well_. I sighed. _Can't be helped, the damage was already done._

"Now we may have a moment of silence."

.::.

The funeral was finally over! I was so relieved because the sadness and silence was unbearable. I spotted Rima being crowded around in a sea of blackness. Everyone was telling her how sad it was for her to lose her mother, no doubt. I felt really bad for her. Maybe I'll comfort her later since she looked like she had her hands full right then.

* * *

**Rima's POV**

I hate everyone right now.

There were so many people I didn't even know, telling me what a shame it was to lose someone like my mom. She was so nice or kind and such a helpful soul most of her friends told me, others just told me they pitied what would happen to me and all that shit.

Yes, I know, I swore. But everyone was crowding me and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I needed to think, alone, somewhere quiet and sort out my emotions, they've been all mixed up these few days, I didn't know which one was which.

Amu kept hanging on to me wherever we went, telling me everything was going to be okay. She's always been a bad liar. Yaya kept pouncing around me, glomping me every second I wasn't happy, which was every second.

Tadase, Kukai, and Kairi where in the corner, talking about something very serious, while Utau left after giving me a pat on the head when the funeral was over. "You'll be back to normal in a couple of months." And the charas (now turned human) where somewhere doing Kiseki's biddings. We left Kusukusu at Nagihiko's house because she was still recovering but her state wasn't bad enough to go to a hospital. Rhythm volunteered to stay and make sure Kusukusu was doing okay while Temari stayed to make sure Rhythm wouldn't do anything crazy. Whatever that meant, I didn't like it. And strangely, I didn't see Nagihiko anywhere.

"Rima," Amu interrupted me from my chain of thoughts. "Where are you going to stay after this?"

A little alarm went off in my head. "Well, maybe I can stay at your house."

Amu smiled. "I wish I could, but ever since Ran, Miki, Suu and Dia became human, we don't have any spare room anymore."

"Yaya?" I turned to her and she gave me a pouting face.

"Ever since Pepe became human she's been getting lots of attention from Yaya's Mama and Papa just like Tsubasa so―"

"I get it." I knew how much Yaya wanted attention from her parents. Believe me, I _got_ it.

"I would offer you a stay, but my relatives are coming over this week and Kiseki also takes up quite a lot of space." Tadase said honestly.

Kukai walked over casually. "My house is full too. I mean, I already have five brothers, plus my parents and Daichi."

"We're only renting an apartment so we don't have all that much liberty either." Kairi said while pushing his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "Maybe Utau will have more conveniences for you."

"No," Amu stated. "Utau has just sold her next debut CD so she'll be going to different parts of Japan a lot."

Suddenly, Yaya snapped her fingers. "Maybe you can stay with Nagi!"

I almost felt faint. "For the rest of my life?"

"Until you find your dad or can stay with relatives." Tadase pointed out.

"No." Total. _Rejection_.

"Aww, Rima-chan, why did you decline the invitation?" I felt arms wrap around my neck and someone's warm breath against the skin of my neck.

"Because I hate you." I tried to rip his hands away while everyone watched in curiosity as he replied.

"But what about the other night―"

Boiling anger bubbled my blood and I literally flipped Nagihiko over my shoulder, kicked his ribs and dragged him away to the empty field behind the church.

"Ow, my God, Rima! Since when were you this strong…?" I heard him mutter as we came out of sight of the others.

"You say one word to the others about what happened, and I swear," My voice was cold, menacing and completely sincere. "And you will be spitting up your guts until there'd be nothing left in your body protected."

I thought for a moment I saw him shiver.

"F-fine," he answered as he got up and dusted himself off and gave me his boy-ish goofy grin like he always did. "But you're going to stay at my house, right?"

"Uh…"

"Rima-chan!" Said a voice. I turned around to see a middle aged woman with dirty blonde hair and bright orange eyes. Her rosy cheeks beamed at me with a sparkling smile. She wore a black blouse with a gray jacket over it and a white pearl necklace. She wore a Tube skirt like one of those flight attendants you'd see on an airplane and her hair was tied in a bun with black feathers decorated around it. She wore black high heels and white laced knee socks and a black handkerchief in one pocket of her jacket. Strange to say, but she looked very similar to me, yet there was something off about her. Something made me feel… insecure.

"Who are you?" I said rudely.

She didn't seem mad about my straight forward question; in fact, some would say she looked nervous…

"I'm sorry, I must introduce myself. My name is Hishi Amelia. But before I got married, I was known as Mashiro Amelia."

I stared at her in shock.

"I'm sorry, but I'd like to inform you, I'm your mother's cousin. Ever since your mother's moved away, we haven't been able to find her and, well… we never knew she had a child."

I cocked my head. "But I thought my mother said she didn't have any family left…"

Amelia patted my shoulder. I felt electrifying shivers run up and down my spine at the sudden touch of the strange woman. I pulled away. There was defiantly something _very_ wrong here… "Besides, I would like to know why you're here."

She gave me a smile. "Our family is broken, Rima-chan. I'm the only one left. Me and my husband, we came here for you. We want to offer you a new life and start over. You see, we've always wanted children, but we couldn't because I couldn't carry a child."

I thought I saw her eyes tear up and in the corner of my eye, I saw Nagihiko's worried expression. I looked at him, then back at the woman. I didn't like the way she made me feel. It was scary.

I sighed. "I'm not sure…"

"I understand why you can't believe me, but I just want you to know, we are your only family left. Please consider the offer." Her icy hand brushed my cheek, I flinched.

"I don't… know you."

She nodded. "But you'll have to come because legally, we get full responsibility of you now. I'm sorry."

"No. Thanks." I seethed through clenched teeth.

"Rima-chan, please listen to me," she got down on her knees to be at my level. God, am I that short?

"No." I resisted.

Suddenly, she grasp my arms and hissed, "Please, don't make this harder than it already is." Then she got back to her regular voice and said, "You have no choice, it's a law."

"No, let me go!" I screamed and tried to pull away as her long and sharp fingernails dug into my skin. "STOP IT!" I begged. "It hurts!"

"Didn't you hear her?" A voice behind me roared in rage. "She asked you to STOP!"

Then the pain was gone. Warm, damp liquid ran down my pale arms as I got down on my hands and knees to stop my panting. I lifted my head slightly to see a purple blur jump, then kick the woman on the ground. "Nagihiko!"

He turned and gave me an anxious glance. He rushed over and examined my arms. "Damn it. You need a rag and something to stop that bleeding." I nodded through tears.

"Why?"

He rolled his eyes as he took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around the worst arm. "Because you're hurt."

"No, why did you protect me?"

He stopped. "Because I have to."

"No you don't. You could have ran to get someone or called the police."

"By the time they came, it might have been too late."

"You're not answering the question."

He sighed and looked me in the eye. "Like I said before; I had to."

I frowned as he continued to wrap my arms and stop the bleeding. "You always protect me. And I still haven't gotten my answer. Why? Why didn't you just leave me?"

I got pulled forward out of the blue and found Nagihiko's arms around my waist, my head in his chest and his face in my hair. My eyes were wide in astonishment.

"I… You need me." I felt my cheeks flush with heat and closed my eyes.

We were silent for a few seconds. "Yeah, thanks." I admitted in muffles of our hug. I felt his lips widen into a smile in my hair. Wait, what did I just say? I d-don't need him… Great, I'm stuttering even in my thoughts. Stupid, stupid Nagihiko for messing with my head.

"Rima!" We pulled away quickly.

"Nagihiko!"

"Where are they?"

"Does it look like I know where they'd be?"

"They shouldn't have gone too far…" I saw a pinkette come around the corner. "Oh my God! Rima-chan is bleeding!" I stared at Nagihiko who chuckled.

"Rima-tan!" Yaya wailed as she glomped me. "Yaya was so worried about both of you, Yaya thought you guys were abducted by aliens."

Everyone sweat dropped.

"Why is Mashiro-san bleeding?" Tadase stared in horror at my arms.

"A crazy lady tired to tell us she was Rima's mother's cousin and came to take her away."

Amu's eyes bulged. "Rima-chan, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Queen," Kairi looked around. "Where is this lady you spoke of?"

I looked back to the spot Nagihiko had last kicked her but only saw and empty spot.

"She was just there…" I pointed but decided it wasn't worth it.

"Come on, we better get something to stop the bleeding." Kukai jogged ahead while Amu and Nagihiko helped me up and the rest trailed behind.

* * *

**Normal POV**

"I'm sorry," Amelia looked away from the phone in her hand. "I've failed, please forgive me. It won't happen again."

"You're right," a voice hissed icily with no mercy for the weary blonde woman. "It _won't_ happen again because you won't get a second chance. I'll have to send in professionals to do the job _you_ messed up. Get back to head quarters immediatly and I'll see if I will have to give you further punishment other than job TERMINATED!" The other line began to beep as Amelia realized the voice had hanged up. She closed the phone and sighed.

.::.

The airplane landed at Tokyo East Airport. It was a small, but expensive jet plane with only three passengers aboard. The door opened and three figures climbed out. Most people would find nothing wrong with these three, fine looking children, but indeed something about them was misplaced.

"Ah! The city of Tokyo, once again! Nayuka, aren't you excited?" A tall girl with shoulder length, stringy blue-ish purple hair that was tied in a high pony-tail with a white ribbon, came out. Her pretty lime-green eyes scanned the surroundings.

"It's changed very much, Moe. I don't recognize it anymore."

A little tiny figure appeared behind her hair. "But you won't have to worry, Nayuka! You'll blend right in, just the way you want it. I'm very sure!" The chara twirled around in her yellow sundress as her tiny golden locks swirled in a graceful manner. Her white ribbon with two black stripes flying with her hair, never getting out of order. Moe grinned a girly smile and she blinked her long eyelashes, grabbed a mirror out of nowhere and gasped at her reflection. "Mon Dieu! Look at my mascara! It's wearing thin… une momente, mon chere!"

Nayuka rolled her eyes. "Mariah, Yahiru, com'on! Let's get going!"

A bubbly little girl came leaping out of the plane. Her red-ish orange low pig-tails tied with green rubber bands came flying with her. "Okie dokie, Captain!" She saluted, her amethyst purple eyes bright with excitement. A tiny chara flew after her.

"Private Baker!" She barked. "How many times do I have to tell you those crazy stunts on TV should not be preformed by you? You could easily get hurt!"

"But Eta," Yahiru whined. "It looked fun and I was curious…"

"Remember what happened last time you got too curious?" The chara tapped her foot in the air. Her dull, mustard yellow hair pulled over her head to one side into a tight, single curl. Her bangs sticking out from under a black head-band and tainted green-ish eyes narrowed. Her white and black stripped scarf like a flight attendant's puffed out as her chest did in annoyance. She wore a white tank top and a black and white striped Pleated skirt. A broken chain cuff was attached to her hand as her leg was also cuffed with chains and attached to a black ball the size of a marble, like a mini prisoner.

Yahiru bit her lip. "It will not happen again. I'll make sure of it."

"Good," Eta nodded.

Just then, another girl climbed out of the plane, but she looked a lot different from the other two. Her chocolaty-hazel brown hair hung around her waist, and she blinked her wide, soft brown eyes. Her dark, tanned skin gave away her Latina back-ground. She sighed, and smiled.

"First, I'll go to the arcade, then we'll go to a Japanese restaurant. Oh! I heard they have karaoke too, and maybe after―"

"Are you crazy, Mariah?" A voice cried. Another chara emerged from the shadows. The chara looked like a cross between a human and a goat. Her neon-yellow goat eyes darted around from worry and her sleek, black hair looked on edge. The chara's clothes resembled one from ancient Greece, a simple white tunic buttoned at the top of the shoulders with golden coin-like buttons. Her feet were hooves of a goat, and slung on her shoulder was a pipe tied to a string. A flower was in her hair, placed beside her horns.

"Pana, you shouldn't worry so much." Mariah sighed.

"No! What if you get kidnapped? Or run over? What if a fire work or lightning hits you? The city is dangerous! Only the wild is safe…"

Mariah's shoulder slouched. "Please stop being so paranoid, Pana. I've got everything under control."

"That's what you always say!" Pana bleated nervously.

"Okay guys," Nayuka smiled when everyone got out of the plane. "Looks like we're ready. Tonight, we'll stay at the hotel, and tomorrow, I'm going to visit a cousin of mine."

Yahiru gasped. "You mean the Fujisaki's?"

"Yes, moron. I'm going to visit the Fujisaki's." Nayuka snapped.

"Let's just get to the hotel. You're sleeping in the other room, by the way." Mariah stated.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." The three girls grabbed their luggage, and hailed a taxi.

* * *

**Piggy-chan: MWAHAHAHA! Cliffie! Btw Amelia is just a... filler character... for now. Like Tierra and Neige. The three girls have something special about them. Nayuka, as you already now, is Nagihiko's cousin. Yahiru... has still to be revealed, and Mariah... (hint hint) if you guessed it already from the description, them you're pretty good. If you didn't you'll soon find out ^-^**

**Rima: Why'd you put OCs?**

**Piggy-chan: Cuz they're important! I'm also going to put up OC profiles on my profile from this Fanfic soon, so if you don't get something, just ask or check my profile ^w^**

**Rima&Nagihiko: PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Rima: Hey, when did YOU get here?**

**Nagihiko: Aww, why? Don't you want me here...?**

**Piggy-chan: I know I've been really centering the story on Rima and Nagihiko (and some say it's not healthy T.T But I don't care, I've already gotten the Rimahiko pox, so yeah, spread the disease!) so next chappies I'm going to do some Amu POV and or others, so yesh, I haven't forgotten the other characters XD Later!**

_-NW_ :3


	7. Illusions And Nayuka's Here

**Piggy-chan: Sorry for the late update, I've been studying for my piano... theory exam... it's a pain...**

**Rima: Also she's going on a trip for 5 days, meaning she'll be away from the computer... for five days... you're sad.**

**Piggy-chan: Well, it's summer and I have to spend time with my family. So... yeah ^-^**

**Rima: Okay, let's get this chapter over with because I really can't stand reading this chapter.**

**Piggy-chan: THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS! Nagihiko KISSES Rima in this chappy :D I'm so proud of you Rima~**

**Rima: *blushes like crazy* SHUT THE FUDGE UP! Piggy-chandoesn'townanything, Peach-pitdoesOKAY! On with the story!**

**Piggy-chan: Hey wait**-

_-NW _:3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings!**

Chapter Six

Illusions And Nayuka's Here

* * *

I couldn't wait to see the look on Rima's face! I accidentally blurted my giggles and slapped my mouth with one of my hands. Yes, I've been feeling better, and the cut on my shoulder was healing a lot faster than I thought it would. But the pain was so strong the moment Rima-chan's father hit me, it still stings to remember. I was still trying to get used to everything. I mean, being human that is. It's different from being a chara, way different, but it has a lot of inconveniences too. Adults can see me (I mean regular ones, not people like Tsukasa) and they order me around. It's so infuriating! I don't want to set up a table or anything! Rima always did that kind of thing, not me!

Nagihiko's mother went to some people of the government who decided on orphaned children and demanded they let Rima stay with them. So apparently, we were 'adopted'. But not so that we were all family! Rima got to keep her last name. But this meant we had to stay at their house until Rima got some relatives to claim her or her dad came back. Because none of her parents left any will's, Rima got to pick where to stay (not that she had a choice) so in the end, she had to stay at the Fujisaki's residence.

"Are you sure Rima's not going to get sick from eating that stuff?" Rhythm plugged his nose with a hand before poking the soup with a spoon.

I gave him a cold stare. "That wasn't funny. You're a disgrace to comedy."

He laughed and put an arm around my shoulders. "Well, you'll always be the goddess of comedy with Rima!" I flicked his arm away and put the lid back on the hot soup.

"Thanks for _not_ helping me, why didn't you go to school? You'll miss so much!"

"Go to school? Eww…" he made a gross face. "That's like asking a rich man to live the rest of his life as a hobo!" He stated, scrunched up his nose like he smelled a skunk.

I giggled. Okay, I'll admit, _that_ was funny.

He smiled. "See? I _can_ make you laugh."

I blushed slightly. Sometimes I wondered to myself, if we were going to be Nagihiko's and Rima's would-be-self, then they actually might get along! I'll be honest, I like having Rhythm here for company, but Rima and Nagihiko fight all the time. Was it possible to have them get along? And maybe more?

I looked at Rhythm who looked deep in thought as well.

"What are you thinking about?"

Rhythm rested his chin in his hand on the counter. "Why is it that Nagihiko and Rima hate each other so much?"

I gasped. "That's what _I _was thinking about!"

He grinned. "Maybe we should help them." I felt excitement arise in my chest.

"Maybe they can actually be friends!"

His grin got even wider… I couldn't help notice a twinkle in his eyes like he had thought up something ingenious.

"And maybe more…"

"I feel a planning mood in the air." I smiled evilly.

He did the same. "Yes, I do too. To the drawing board room!" I turned the heat off the stove and let it cool a bit. We had about an hour left until they arrived from school. Then we raced out of the kitchen and down the halls. Then I felt curious.

"Rhythm, I didn't know you had a drawing board room…"

* * *

**Rima's POV**

"Hello everyone, welcome to drama class." A pretty and elegant woman stood on the stage while everyone sat down in the auditorium of the theater. "My name is Calliope Bacchus, but please call me Calli." The woman smiled her white pearly teeth and I heard whispering behind me. Looks like Ms. Teacher had some fan boys on her tail. I giggled. Calli looked young for a teacher, and I could understand why guys would start liking her. She had warm, light peach skin and pretty pink-ish purple eyes. She had smooth, long ruby-red hair that hung from a messy yet elegant bun. She wore a funny style of clothing, like the bright decorative skirt and patterned blouse. She had a loose green scarf around her neck and green high-heels. There was only one word to describe her; dramatic.

"Um… Ms. Calli?" A girl raised her hand. "Is it really okay to call you by your first name?"

"Of course! Is there a law against it?" She sounded surprised.

"N-no, but all the other teachers insist we call them sensei…"

"Well, I'm not as elderly and formal as those old teachers, as you can see."

Everyone whispered and giggled. We all liked this teacher, that's for sure.

"Anyways, everyone, come around here and we'll start our first lesson."

Everyone looked at each other, then got up and began to climb onto the stage.

"I like this teacher." Amu whispered to me.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I do too."

"That's a first." Amu teased. I rolled my eyes.

"Today, we're going to explore illusions." Calli said. She took out strange pictures that didn't make any sense.

"This is called an optical illusion. It means, these pictures trick the eyes." Calli explained. "This one's called 'The Herman Grid Illusion'." She took out a picture of little black squares in a grid formation. "If you don't look directly at the white lines, you can see faint dark dots at the intersections?" We nodded. "Now look directly at one of the dots."

I did as told to and realized the faint black dot was gone. I gasped.

"Do you see? If you stared at it with all your focus, it became clear."

"Wow!" "Cool." "Magic trick!"

I giggled. This was by far the best class I've been to in all of Middle school.

"Let's try another one." She took out another picture. "What do you see?"

Calli smiled warmly. Then I realized she was looking at me. "Rima-chan?"

"Y-yes?" I said, slightly startled.

"What do you see?"

"A-a vase, I guess?" She nodded, as if disappointed.

Then she turned and looked at Nagihiko. "What do you see?"

"Two people staring at each other."

"Good! Anyone see both?" Some nods where exchanged around the class.

"You see, these optical illusions trick the eye, but if you focus, you will be able to see everything clearly. Keep an open mind." I felt her eye piercing gaze land on me.

Suddenly, the bell rang for home time.

"We'll finish tomorrow! I'll see everyone tomorrow!" A few people waved, but I on the other hand, ran out of the theater as fast as I could go.

"Rima-chan!" Amu came puffing behind. "Wait up! What's the rush?"

"Nothing," I mumbled.

She laughed. "You looked like you'd seen a ghost."

I stared at my feet as I walked. "I don't know. I just have a bad feeling."

"But I like Ms. Calli," Amu protested. "She's nice and funny. A lot better than our grumpy math teacher." I would have agreed with her on that, but suddenly a grouchy old algebra teacher didn't sound all that bad.

"What I can't get," I paused as I opened my locker, "Was how she knew my name when I had never told her."

"Attendance maybe…?" Amu suggested. But I highly doubted it.

* * *

"How was school, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko asked me for the fifth time. I could tell he was getting agitated. Why did he have to live so far away from the school? Ugh. Walking sucks.

I ignored him again. I heard him sigh. About another few minutes passed until I replied, "Same as always."

He gave me a confused look. "That took you five minutes to answer."

"So?"

"You… never mind." He gave up. "So school's always the same, huh?"

"Yes," I said quietly, staring in-front of me.

"What's school like, then?"

_Strange_. "Boring."

He stopped walking. "Boring?"

"Yeah, got a problem with that?" I kept walking ahead.

"How is school boring?" Yikes, he sounded mad.

"Someone sounds offended~!" I said in a sing song voice, teasing him as I turned around. The rain hadn't let up even now. I held a pink umbrella to keep myself dry while Nagihiko had a blue one. I smiled as I let my golden locks swirl with my body and then sway to a stop at my hips. For a second, I thought I saw Nagihiko blush. "Hm?"

He walked up to me and pushed me along, looking away. "We should hurry, mom's going to get mad if I don't make it to dance practice."

"Or cross-dressing practice." I giggled. "Nadeshiko might get in trouble~!" It was fun to tease Nagihiko. I saw him rub his forehead with one hand in frustration.

For another few minutes we walked in silence. "Nagihiko?"

"Hmm?" Then he stopped walking again. "You called me by my name!"

My face was blank. "No I d-didn't…"

"Yes you did!" He literally beamed. "You did! You so did, I knew you did!"

"Shut up." I walked with as much speed as my short legs could put up.

I heard him chuckling behind me. "This is _so_ going to haunt you for the rest of your life."

I was about ready to beat the shit out of that guy when I remembered my mom telling me about holding grudges.

_"You should never hold grudges; that's what I learned in life, Wendy-Chan. Thankfully, you never had the chance to be cursed the way I was."_

_Don't hold grudges, don't hold grudges, don't hold grudges_, I thought repeatedly as I walked. You don't want to end up like mom, right Rima?

"Rima-chan?"

Silence. Damn it! Stop annoying me Fujisaki! You're making it harder than it already is, so please shut up!

"Are you resisting the urge to argue with me?" But he kept pestering me.

"YES! Now, Shut. Up! It's hard enough to resist the urge, but now it's mandatory if I don't want to end up like my mother!" I snapped, realized what I had just said, and hoped he hadn't heard it right.

His face was pure shock. Not just because I admitted I didn't want to fight, but I accidentally blurted out my thoughts. "Why would you end up like your mother by holding a grudge?"

Oh God, no, please, no! "You know what? Forget it."

"But―"

"Oh look! It's your house, let's go." I cut him off and pretty much pounced on the door.

"You're home Rima-chan!" I was tackled by an unidentified flying object a.k.a. Kusukusu. "Com'on! I made you something!" She tugged me to the kitchen like it was the end of the world. Strangely, I noticed not many servants and maids were around. "Where's everyone?"

"On vacation for a day." Then she stuck a spoon in my mouth from saying anything more. "How is it?"

I took the empty spoon out and swallowed. "Pretty good, actually." She beamed.

"I made some more for you and put some in your room."

"Oh, okay. I'll eat it later―"

"No! It'll get cold." Then I was being dragged again. She brought me to Nagihiko's room and slammed the door. I heard a click sound behind the door and I knew she had locked it.

"Looks like they tricked you too, huh?"

I whipped around to see the one and only, Nagihiko.

"Noo! Kusukusu! I beg you! OPEN THIS DOOR IMMEDIATELY!" I banged the door with all the force I could take out on the stupid door, but at the back of my head, a little voice told me it was futile. I was stuck in here. With. Him.

**Fifteen minutes later…**

"Fine! Forget it! Don't open the door. HAVE FUN ON YOUR OWN!" I panted, then I collapsed on the carpet of Nagihiko's room. No matter how much I wanted Kusukusu to die right now, there was nothing in my power I could possibly do to her at the moment.

I tried the attic door, but it looked like it was sealed with super glue or something. I tried the window, but it was stuck too.

"They already planned everything before we arrived." Nagihiko sat in the corner with his arms and legs crossed, his eyes were shut, and was quiet the whole time I had yelled and banged the door.

"Wait!" I snapped my fingers. "Your mom! You're supposed to have dance practice, right?"

He bit his lip, "I forgot my mom was going to give me a day off because she needed to finish some papers of your adoption registration."

"What about Tierra and Neige? They live here, right?"

"Yeah," Nagihiko stopped. "But their dorms are in the East wing of the house with some other employees that stay here."

"Baaya?"

"I don't know what she does. We have school tomorrow, so the least Kusukusu and Rhythm could do is lock us up for one night."

I've tried to resist the urge to scream, but I couldn't take it anymore.

"AHH!" I launched myself on his bed and began to rampage his covers. "Why does my life _suck_ so _bad_? What did I do to _deserve_ this?" I screamed into his pillow. Usually, I wouldn't even be _near_ his stuff, but I had to take out my anger on _something_, and this was _Nagihiko_'s room, so it wasn't like I had anything else.

"Rima-chan?"

"What?"

"I was just wondering…" I felt his body sit beside mine on the bed. "Do you think you could teach me?"

I turned to look at him and saw he was holding the guitar I had took.

"Why?" There was no way I was teaching him. What if he wanted to be as good as I was with the guitar too? Or maybe take advantage of me or… okay, maybe I am paranoid.

He frowned. "I…I don't know. I guess I feel empty… and useless that my father could play it and not me."

Well, if that was the case, I had no problem with it. I smiled. "Okay, but you have to listen to _me_."

* * *

I threw myself onto his bed again. This was all insane. I had tried to teach him, but it seemed he wasn't a fast learner with music. It was completely pointless, he could play some notes, but it was near impossible for him to learn a whole song.

"Hey, Rima-chan?"

"What do you want, purple-head?" I said, my face still in his pillow, so it sounded muffled.

"Do you like anyone?"

"Sure, I like Amu and Yaya and Kusukusu and―"

"No, I mean, love anyone?"

I felt my cheeks burn so I pushed my face even further into the pillow.

"Why would you want to know?"

"I'm just… curious." His voice sounded nervous.

I lifted my head a bit. "Why, do you?"

"…Uh, what makes you say that?"

"You asked the question to me, but I won't give you an answer until you answered mine."

He sighed. "I… I think I do. I'm not sure if it's love, but every time I see her… my heart starts beating so fast, it feels like it's going to explode."

I felt my heart tear slightly. Wait, what's this? Is this… jealousy? For the enemy? DISCARD THAT FEELING RIGHT NOW RIMA! Get a hold of yourself!

Why was I even feeling that for him? Was I jealous of the fact that he… liked someone? How could I feel jealous? Okay, if I don't want to be like Amu, I can't be dense. Think of the possibilities, Rima. Number one, you could just be having a heart attack. Number two, you could be feeling nausea being in the same room together. Option three… you could like him. Option four, you could be feeling undigested soup that went to your heart or something― WAIT A MINUTE! What did I just think?

"Well?"

"Hm?" I looked at his form sitting on the windowsill of his window, the setting sun casting his shadows into the room and his― SNAP OUT OF IT RIMA!

"It's your turn to confess." He smiled.

I felt the burning sensation of my cheeks again and plopped my head back down on his pillow. Was it possible, I, Rima Mashiro, his enemy, liked Nagihiko Fujisaki? Why was it I always found him good at everything (even stealing best friends), blushed, stuttered, and even felt protected when he was around? I thought at first it might have been because he was a horrible and a trickster, gave me heart attacks, embarrassed me, and had no common sense what so ever. Yet I had some giddy feeling bounce around in my chest when ever I was near him.

"I guess so…"

"What?" He came closer and cupped a hand around his ear in a teasing manner.

"I said I guess I do!" I yelled.

At first he was stunned, then he looked… sad. "I see."

I see. I _see_? What the hell type of response is that?

"So, Rima-chan, who is this―"

"You know, maybe we should try your guitar practicing again." I jumped in, desperately trying to change the subject. There was no way, (I wasn't even entirely sure if I liked him yet) in all of heaven, no way I was telling him anything.

He stared then shook his head. "Well, if you don't want to talk about it, I want to know about something else. But you have to promise you'll answer."

"Does it include the Ancient Japanese trivia on our next history test?"

"Uh, no?"

"Then I will answer this question."

I thought I saw him smile, but maybe just for a second, but his face went back to serious.

"I want you to tell me what happened that night. The truth, sincerely, tell me what happened and also in the hospital room."

I froze. "I d-don't know what you're talking about." I said, trying to play dumb. "Which n-night? What are you talking about―"

"Rima!" He grasped my wrists in his strong and firm hands, twisted me around so we were face to face. I wanted to squirm out of his hold, but I already knew it was senseless. "Please. I can't bear to see you like this." His gaze was soft and warmth touched my heart, but if I did tell him, he would be sad and feel pity for me. I don't want anyone to feel like that for me. I wanted to be strong as everyone. I didn't want to be trapped in this fragile body to let everyone know how weak I was, I wanted to be able to stand up on my own without help from eyes of sympathy.

"I… I can't." I looked down.

"You can." He said confidently, raising my chin to stare into my eyes. I felt my blush start to grow, but swallowed it down.

"I won't." I said stubbornly, but added quietly, "I'll only end up hurting people."

His grip on my wrists tightened. "Rima…" I glanced at his angered yet worried face. "If you don't see, you should look in a mirror, but holding everything in… it's hurting yourself more than it would hurt others."

I felt tears wobble down my cheeks. It was true, if I did hold everything in, I would only hurt myself. The nightmares I had every night burned my memory and felt so real every time I had them. There had to be a way to tell him… "I'm sorry. But I can't. If it's going to hurt just me… then I'm fine with it."

"But I'm not!" _Nagihiko_… I stared into his eyes.

"You're… crying. Why?"

"Because," I saw him try to hide them by blinking them away, but horribly failed. "Every time, you cry, I will too. Every little thing that pinches you would stab me. Every time you smile, I laugh for you. You… I can't bear to see you hurting alone."

"What are you saying…?"

"I… I…" His face started to turn red, the way Amu's did when ever she was around Tadase or Ikuto. This was getting… uncomfortable.

"Yes?" I tried to say softly, but I was patience was wearing thin. I didn't get anything at all. Maybe I am dense like Amu, I should guess why he's so red… heat stroke?

Suddenly, Nagihiko's face pulled forward. For a split second, I saw the illusion Ms. Calli showed us. The two-heads-and-vase illusion. But if there had been any vase, it would have been completely squashed, because there was no longer any space in-between our heads.

His lips crashed against mine, sending us both down on his bed. Me underneath and him on top. I was freaked out, but at the same time, it felt… right. Like it was supposed to be like this when none of us knew. If it wasn't Nagihiko, I would have freaked out, but it was… maybe all this time I had hated him, I had liked him. And vise versa.

His warm lips and hot breath tickled my skin, his purple hair wrapped around mine like they were ropes, but soft and smooth. I felt something inside of me feel… alive. Like a tougher side suddenly awakened. I felt strong. I felt confident. It was hard to explain. Maybe, Nagihiko was my strength. Maybe we always helped each other because we needed each other to strong. I don't know what made me, maybe it was my feeling of strength or instincts to do so, but I started to kiss him back.

He must have felt the same, because he started to kiss me violently.

I didn't know anything.

I didn't feel anything.

I didn't see anything.

I didn't hear anything.

The only thing I knew was Nagihiko.

That is, until the door swung open.

* * *

**Kusukusu POV**

"Maybe we should go check on them." I said at last.

Rhythm frowned. "But then Rima could get out."

Temari made a giggling noise. "They must be having so much fun right now~"

I laughed, thinking of what _fun_ they could have. Maybe hanging each other. "Well, we should check on them if they've killed each other yet."

Rhythm rolled his eyes. "A girl can't defeat Nagihiko." Temari and I gave him a death glare. He added, "U-unless it's Rima or… uh…"

Suddenly, a ringing noise filled the air.

Rhythm lifted the phone and said, "Moshi moshi, Rhythm here."

The ringing continued. "What the mother of―"

"Wait!" I rummaged through Rima's backpack which she had left in the kitchen. "Got it!" I pulled out Rima's cell phone. "Moshi moshi?"

"Um, can I speak to Rima please? It's me, Amu."

"Holy shit!" I heard Rhythm curse out loud, and Temari whacked him on the head. "Oww, God damn-it Temari!" Whack. "Okay I'll stop swearing you fu―" Temari brought out her naginata. "F-fun loving twin sister…"

I giggled. "Sorry, Rima's um… busy at the moment. Do you want me to pass her a message?"

I heard yelling in the background, running and then a door slam. "N-no, I really need to talk to her, like ASAP."

I gave Rhythm a desperate look. He shrugged. Thanks Rhythm. "Can she call you back?"

"NO! He's loose in the house and I'm all alone! My parents went shopping with Ami, Miki went to look for a spot to draw the sunset with Yoru, Suu is grocery shopping, and Dia and Ran are at the mall looking for new CDs!"

One of my eye brows rose. "And you're home alone with whom…?"

"With―"

Then she was cut off, a door slammed open, screaming, chuckling, struggling and moaning could be heard on the other line.

"Hey kitties~"

I almost dropped the phone. "I-I-Ikuto! W-what have you done to Amu?" I screamed, terrified. Rhythm was frozen to the ground and Temari was giggling again.

"Not much, she fainted after I kissed her. Oh wait, she didn't faint, she just went into fan-girl mode. Now she's okay."

Slap. "IKUTO! Shut up! Gimme the phone!"

"Ow, that hurt."

"Look Kusukusu, can you please get Rima on the line, like NOW?"

"Uh…" I sweat dropped. "S-sure…"

I gave Rhythm a doubtful look and he gave me a thumbs up. I smiled. "Okay."

"Good, because I can't take it anymore."

"Oops." The phone must have been snatched away because Ikuto was back. "Sorry kitties, my strawberry and I have some business. She'll call you back, 'kay?"

"NOO! Ikuto, I swear if you end that call I'll―"

The line went dead.

For a few minutes, we were all stunned. Then Rhythm broke the silence.

"Five bucks says Amu's lost her virginity by morning, no?"

Temari and I rolled our eyes and sighed.

"Speaking of Rima, maybe we should check on them." Temari suggested. We nodded and walked to Nagihiko's room.

"I hope I haven't killed them." I mumbled. "I just wanted them to get along…"

Rhythm unlocked the door and pushed it open.

And I saw… more than I wanted to see. Sure, I wanted Rima to be friends with Nagihiko but… Rima…was under… Nagihiko. Nagihiko. Was. On. Top.

"…What…"

"The…"

"He―" Temari took out her naginata. "H-he-hair br-brush?"

I would have giggled if I wasn't distracted. Well, at least none of their clothes were… off…

"I-it's not what you think!" Nagihiko jumped up, blushing like a tomato.

Then it was dark.

I had fainted.

* * *

**Normal POV**

The 'family' ate dinner quietly. Nagihiko's mother had cooked because she needed to 'brush up on her cooking skills'.

Rima sat in the corner, trying to keep a low profile and avoid any eye contact what so ever. Nagihiko just stared at his plate blankly; pushing the food around the bowl with his chopsticks like it was some kind of ride for his food. Kusukusu was confused, but eyed both Rima and Nagihiko carefully. Temari smiled and Rhythm bit his lip from laughing. Baaya glanced around the table wearily, knowing something was wrong, but said nothing.

It was quiet and peaceful, but outside of the household, a figure lurked in the dark.

"Nayuka!" The small French chara giggled. "Let's go!"

"Moe, we have to stay quiet until Master sends us the message. Be patient."

Moe huffed and stuck her nose in the air. "We shouldn't take orders from anyone. Come mon chere! We will show true woman spirit!"

"No. We have to wait." Nayuka muttered firmly.

Her phone began to ring. "Finally." She pressed talk and the screen on the phone showed a shadowed man sitting in a dark office.

"You may proceed, _Nayuka_. But beware, they will try everything they have to eliminate you."

"I've known that since the day I was born." Nayuka said with clenched teeth. "I haven't forgiven them yet."

The man chuckled. "Let you're wild spirit be freed, and I shall see to it you get what you want when you fulfill your mission. Understand this, you can't do it alone. You'll need the others to finish the job, for this is only the beginning."

"I understand." Nayuka bowed her head.

"Good. I'd better hear from you tonight if you have succeeded."

Nayuka nodded. "Yes."

"And remember," The voice turned ice-cold. "If you fail, you'll never see what you want from us ever again. Just like the others."

Nayuka clenched her fists into tight balls. "I know."

The phone call ended and Nayuka sighed. "Moe, let's get going. We have a mission to begin."

Moe giggled and twirled around. "Mon dieu! An adventure! Tres excitant!"

A slight movement in Nayuka's hand bag caught her attention. Nayuka peered into her bag and whispered to her other egg, "Don't move. I don't want anyone knowing about you. I've disguised you're chara presence, but they will notice if you move." The egg remained still and Nayuka sighed. "Com'on Moe."

Nayuka dragged her luggage through the gate and to the porch of the giant house.

She rang the door bell.

"Who could that be?" Nagihiko's mother waved one of the remaining servants to get the door.

The there was a scream. "MISTRESS! I think you better come!" Tierra's voice exclaimed loudly.

Everyone rushed over to see the commotion. Nagihiko peered over the butler's shoulder and felt his teeth tighten their clench.

"Fujisaki _Nayuka_," Nagihiko welcomed dryly, "What has brought you here?"

Nayuka smiled innocently while everyone but Kusukusu and Rima glared.

* * *

**Piggy-chan: MWAHAHAHAHA! Cliffie! And I thought everything in this chappie was cute Rima! Even Amu's call (heheheh, Ikuto's such a pervert... T.T)**

**Rima: Hmm... kinda strange the way you left the story off...**

**Piggy-chan: O.O Really? eh, oh well. This chappie was looong, not that I'm complaining or anything, but so far, this chappie was the longest I've ever done :D YAAYZ! Ten pages long on Microsoft word!**

**Rima: 'Kay stop bragging.**

**Piggy-chan: T^T I'm not.**

**Rima: Fine then, whatever. REVIEW PLZ! **

**Nagihiko: If you liked the kiss and everything, please review, I'll make sure it happenes again ;) *perverted smile***

**Rima: Yeah, review so- WAIT A MINUTE! What did you say Nagihiko? I'm gonna rip your mouth off and throw your body to a garbage collector-**

**Piggy-chan&Nagihiko: PLEASE REVIEW!**

_-NW _:3


	8. Weird Feelings Lead To Detectives

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**Piggy-chan: Okay, first thing I want to say is I'm reeaaallyyy sorry for the slow update! Summer is the only time my family can spend time together and go on trips so our trips end up longer than everyone thinks. I actually made this chapter about nineteen pages long, but realized it was too long for a single chapter and covered way too many subjects, so I was forced to cut it up and re-do some parts in the next chapter. I'm terribly sorry and hope you all forgive me. But there is a bright side to everything. In Canada, we start and attend school in early September, so I will be working extra hard on making chapters ahead of time so I can edit and revise them and still not be too busy in September and through out the months. I'm starting high school ^-^**

**Rima: Translation; The idiot's back and she's making up excuses for not updatig the story, so to make it up to you all, she will maintain constant updates throughout September or so. She's staring high school so she can be even more stupid than she already is.**

**Piggy-chan: LIES! ALL OF THEM!**

**Rima: Whatever you say, pig-lover.**

**Piggy-chan: I've also made a short French-english dictionary at the bottom of this chapter in case you were confused with some of the expressions Moe uses. In a way, I'm practicing my French :P But it gets kinda hard on my eenie-weenie brain. And one more thing I MUST add, I wuv you ALL! Thankies for making me so happy with all the reviews ^-^ I'm so happy I could throw myself out a window (not that I would...) Every review feels like a giant, bone-crushing (depending how you write them O.o) warm hug that explains it all. I know, I take my virtuality very seriously.**

**Rima: ... What are you talking about?**

**Piggy-chan: ^^;; Uh... never mind. And the title is acting wierd. No matter how many times I put it in the middle, it keeps going to the side. *frustrated sigh* Whatever... DISCLAIMER!**

**Kusukusu: PIGGY-CHAN DOESN'T OWN ANYTHING! Except her OCs! I HAVE A VERY LOUD VOICE! ... keep that in mind, you'll see :D**

_-NW_ :3

**Edit:**

**Piggy-chan: Oh, I just checked the title and it's working perfectly fine on the web... O.o Weeeird.**

-NW :3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings!**

Chapter Seven

Weird Feelings Lead To Detectives

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* * *

Rima's POV

I had no idea what was going on, but one thing was for sure; Nagihiko's family did _not_ like this girl.

She reminded me of my first meeting with 'Nadeshiko', but her hair was shoulder-length and tied in a high pony-tail with a white ribbon. She had strange limey green eyes, not neon, but I swear if they were, she would have resembled a snake. Oh God, I hate snakes…

She had a silver-white jacket on and a skirt that looked like it was made from the same material as blue jeans. She wore black leggings and big, light-brown cow-boy boots. _All that's missing is a cowboy-hat_, I mused. Then I noticed something (or someone) peek behind her hair. I squinted my eyes and realized it was a pretty little chara.

Her chara looked extremely feminine. She had a cascade of petite blonde locks; some tied to the side with a white ribbon with two black stripes, a long yellow sundress, and… make up? That was strange, I didn't think chara's wore make up.

"Can't I come visit my family?" The girl brushed her shoulder like there was dust accumulating there.

"Hm, well _Nayuka_," Tierra pretended to think for a moment. "Last time we saw you, you tried to _steal the Fujisaki fortune_, so yeah! I think that's why we're all being so paranoid." She glared at her.

Nayuka looked scared for a second. "I've lost contact with my family over the years and I've been given a place to stay nearby. I've changed and I hope you could forgive my family for bringing displeasure to you."

"Oh, come on! Get real, Nayuka." Tierra rolled her eyes. "You've been dreaming of living in riches all your life, especially that family of yours."

Nayuka looked desperately around, as if she was looking for help, then she stopped and smiled like the tension in the air didn't exist. "_Pardone moi_, I came to visit since I'm going to be in the area for a while. I have no intensions of stealing the fortune anymore. This side of the family inherited it fair-and-square, so I have nothing against all of you any longer." She looked at Nagihiko who was behind the butler. "Well, well, _Nadeshiko_. I didn't think you'd go back to being a boy because of all the expectations your father left you. Talk about being stronger like a boy, what are you doing, hiding behind a servant? Afraid I'll bite?" Nayuka mocked him.

"Shut up Nayuka." Nagihiko hissed as he made his way forward.

"Now, now," Nagihiko's mother cut in. "It's true Nadeshiko went back to being a boy, but it's his challenge. _Some people_ just don't realize how much they can do when they set themselves a goal." Nayuka's eyes darkened.

"_Mes excuses_, but I _have_ set myself a goal," Nayuka said cheerfully again. "_Mais_, maybe it is your _son_ who's lost _his_ goal." Everyone stared at Nayuka in shock for talking back to Nagihiko's mom.

Then I noticed Nayuka's white bow. I swore it was completely white when she entered, but now it was white with two black strips across. Had she character changed?

Her eyes twitched suddenly. "_Excusez mon impolitesse_, but who are _you_?"

She stared directly at me.

"I'm uh… Rima―"

"No one you necessarily need to know." Neige interfered and opened the door. "I believe you need to leave now, Fujisaki Nayuka."

I stared in awe as Nayuka violently snarled French insults (I think it was French…) at Neige but seemed unaware of Nayuka's violent behavior, and held the door wider.

"I'll see you all soon," Nayuka said with a smile, her white bow back to normal, and she looked completely unaware of everyone's growing anger. "Very soon." She glanced at me with a cold grin before leaving the mansion. Neige shut the door and breathed out a sigh of relief.

Nagihiko's mother and Baaya whisked all the servants and maids back to work while Nagihiko stormed off to his room with Temari and Rhythm tailing after.

"Who was that?" I asked Tierra who was still biting her lip in anger, staring at the door.

"Huh?" She blinked and looked at me. "What did you say?"

"Why was everyone so angry?"

She blinked once more. "Mad? What makes you think we're mad?"

I gave her a _Yeah-right_ look. She sighed.

"Her name is Fujisaki Nayuka. All I know for sure is that her father was the eldest brother in the family and was supposed to inherit the Fujisaki fortune, but after a few months of his wife's pregnancy, he mysteriously disappeared, so the fortune was handed to his brother, Nagihiko's father."

"She said earlier she had no intensions of stealing the Fujisaki fortune," I tapped my chin. "What did that mean?"

Tierra looked around anxiously, as if she wasn't supposed to be saying something. "I don't remember that much, but about eight years ago, Nayuka and her mother's side of the family tried to steal the family fortune, but ended up getting arrested. Nayuka had been taken into orphanage, but rumors say Nayuka's been plotting and still being influenced by her family to take the fortune from Mistress again, especially since Nagihiko's father went away. Sorry, I don't know anymore." She grabbed a basket of clothing, gave me a quick wink and walked to the laundry room.

Normally, I would have asked Nagihiko, but ever since he kissed me, I've been feeling weird. Like all my emotions felt like they were in a storm, and I had no idea what to feel anymore. He made me feel giddy and strange, not that I didn't like the feeling, but it was confusing and it made my head hurt. I didn't know what else to think, so the best I could do was stay away from him, avoid eye contact and I would be fine until I had all my emotions figured out.

Kusukusu tapped my shoulder.

"Is it true then? Nayuka's a threat?"

I shrugged. "Maybe everyone was jumping to conclusions."

Kusukusu looked nervous. "Hey, Rima?"

"Yeah?"

"Something's wrong with Nayuka."

I gave her a funny look. "Well, if she was trying to steal the fortune, I guess there _is_ something wrong."

"No, I'm talking about her presence."

"What do you mean?" I said, dumbfound.

She shivered. "I know, I'm not a chara anymore, but I can still feel emotions, the air and different presences. Nayuka… I've never felt it before."

Confused even more so, I asked, "What's wrong with her presence?"

"Well, from my experiences," Kusukusu fiddled with the pom-pom on her clown hat. "All children have a warm and hopeful presence. It means the child dreams, laughs, cries, believes and wishes with full hope from their hearts. When they have X's on their eggs, it's dark and sad. The presence is usually cold, depressing, black and miserable because of heart-break in their dreams." Kusukusu stopped. "But Nayuka… is neither. Like her heart is… emotionless, dead. Awake, has a goal, but blurry and unstable. Like she knows what she needs to do and how to achieve it, but numb and unable to comply."

I stared at Kusukusu. "So… what do we do?"

Kusukusu shrugged. "I wan'na see what happens, maybe we should tell Nagihiko."

My cheeks began to flare up again.

"Ehh?" Kusukusu stared at my face intently.

"Could you please move away from me? It's a little too close for my liking…" I turned away. I wonder if Kusukusu remembered what happened before she fainted…

Then a fountain of giggles erupted like a volcano. Well that was unexpected… not.

"Rima and Nagi, sittin' in a tree~" She sang as she danced around me. Yup, I guess she did remember. "K-I-S-S-I-N―" I smacked my hand on her mouth.

"If you finish that sentence, I'll rip your mouth out so you'll never speak again." I threatened in a cold and menacing voice.

Her eyes filled with tears. "B-but I'll never b-be able t-to tell jokes e-ever ag-gain―WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" She yelled as tears burst out of her eyes like a freaking flood.

"OKAY! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

Immediately, she stopped and smiled. "Yay!" She giggled. Who knew she could change mood swings that fast? Well, at least I know where I got my ability to fake-cry from.

"Look, I don't want to get near him…" I felt my cheeks burn again. Kusukusu gave me a curious look.

"Your emotions are unclear… are you okay, Rima-chan?"

I gave her a slight nod. "I'm f-fine…"

She cocked her head sideways. "Rima-chan, like I said before, but I can feel your emotions even if I'm human, and I'm feeling… confused." Then her eyes lit up. "You're having second thoughts about Nagihiko! So you don't hate him, huh?"

Ugh, I hate it when chara's know how you feel. "M-maybe… he might not be the enemy…"

"You like him!" Kusukusu yelled before I could cup her mouth again.

"Sure, just yell it to the world, Kusukusu!" I hissed with sarcasm dripping from my words.

"RIMA-CHAN LIKES NAGIHIKO!" Kusukusu screamed her lungs out. "I don't think the whole world knows yet though. I mean, my voice isn't loud enough for the whole world to hear―"

"BAKA!" I yelled. "I was being sarcastic!"

"Sarcastic…?" She asked. I banged my head on the wall. Typical Kusukusu. Sarcasm isn't a word in her vocabulary.

"I was joking!"

"Ohhh…" She said like she just realized the Earth was round. "Well, I guess we're all learning something new every day."

I half-smiled. "So you're going to school tomorrow, Kusukusu?" I said, trying to change the subject.

She nodded. "I'm really excited!"

"'Night Kusukusu."

"Good night Rima-chan!" She said and ran off to the guest room.

I brushed my teeth in the bathroom then quietly tip-toed to Nagihiko's room and discovered he was already asleep. I grabbed his desk chair and jumped on it to reach the attic door. Damn… why does this door have to be so high? And why do I have to be so freaking short? Ugh.

I finally pulled the stair-ladder thing down and climbed up to my 'room'. I pulled the covers over my head and yawned. The last thing I remembered was hearing a little voice in my head saying, 'You like Nagihiko!'

* * *

_Hello?_

I walked through darkness, its shadows touching me like mist in the morning, brushing against my skin with faint, cool and delicate fingers. A flash of light appeared at the far end of this darkness like I was in a tunnel.

It was so dark; I didn't know what else to do than to walk towards the light. As I walked, I began to realize there wasn't just one light anymore. There was two, then three, no five, wait, ten! More than I could count. Everywhere I turned my head it was filed with bright, little egg-shaped lights, twinkling around me.

Suddenly, I was aware I wasn't encased in darkness anymore. I was in a room. A really _big_ room. And the egg-shaped lights were behind bars, no, they were held in cages. I heard small and quiet whispers. I closed my eyes, and I concentrated on the small voices until I could recognize words.

_Help us!_

_We're trapped._

_So lost…_

_We're dying!_

_Dying…_

_DYING!_

_Save us…!_

The voices were so quiet, they were almost thoughts. They sounded like echoed screams of agony, trapped voices bouncing off of bare walls. Trapped in emptiness and no return. I opened my eyes, and then I noticed a door in-front of me was open and a girl with long, loose purple hair that reached the middle of her back and had her back to me. She had several keys in her hands, she was desperately trying to open one of the cages, and her hands were covered with dried blood. I could hear her panting echo in the room.

_No!_ The girl slammed her hand on the table, stopping her struggles with the jingling keys. Her voice sounded surprisingly masculine. _Why isn't it working!_ She yelled in frustration.

_Excuse me_, I tapped her arm. I trembled as she turned around. I squinted to see the girl half turn her head. Her face was decayed, like her face was being eaten away, bit by bit, until you could see the very white of her bones. I gasped, and her bony hands reached for me. To my horror, they were decayed as well. I screamed.

_Get away from me!_ I backed away as she came forward.

_You shouldn't be here_, the girl said with her boy-ish voice. Then she pushed me into darkness.

It was dark again. I was walking again. Hitch-hiking in the darkness.

I found myself climbing stairs, upward into a light at the top.

_This better not be another scary illusion_, I said to myself.

I kept walking, until something at the corner of my eyes caught my attention. I turned.

_Merry Christmas, Clara!_ A tall, red-headed woman spoke to a small red-ish orange haired girl. She looked about four years old.

_Mama!_ The girl cried out and crawled to the lady who now was sitting on the floor. From the looks of it, it was early morning. The windows were frosted with a white frame, which meant it was very cold outside. It was snowing, and I looked around the room.

It was huge, the walls were a snow-white colour, and in the middle of the room was a giant Christmas tree.

_Mama_, the girl said again as she struggled to get to her mother. I didn't recognize much of what was going on, because I believed they were both speaking English, yet, somehow, I was able to understand. Like there was some sort of dictionary implanted in my brain, translating everything subconsciously. Wow, since when have I been talking like Kairi?

The woman scooped up the little girl and stared into her amethyst coloured eyes.

She had a sad, disappointed expression on her face. A sharp pain filled her face for a second, then she put the child down, trembling.

_Clara_, the woman said in a strained voice. _You're hurting me._

_Hurting…?_ The little girl asked, patting her mother's leg in comfort.

_Yes, Clara. Please stop playing around._ The woman stared at the clock as if she was waiting any moment for something bad to happen. _Don't use the power Mama's been teaching you. It can hurt people who can't stand the pain._

The girl nodded_. Sorry… Mama_.

The woman got down on her knees, not hurt anymore, and touched the child's nose. _Your power is very special, Clara. But you mustn't use it on purpose, understand? You can get innocent people involved, and steal their Wish, remember?_

The girl nodded. _I'm sorry, Mama. I didn't mean to steal yours…_

_I know_, the woman replied and kissed the girl's forehead. _This is my last Christmas with you, Clara._

_I don't want to be taken away!_ The girl started to sob. _I don't want to g-go with P-papa!_

_I know you don't_, her mother tried to calm her down_. I don't either, but this is the path you need to follow. I want you to be safe, and I know Papa isn't going to treat you well, but you have to be strong. _

_It's all my fault, Mama!_ The girl hugged her mother. _I should have been more careful with my power. I let Papa know when I wasn't supposed to. You know it's my fault! Why do they have to take _you_ away?_

Her mother hugged her back, then pulled her away_. I'm not going to stay locked up for long. I'll escape, _her mother whispered_. Then I'll come find you. I will. I promise, okay?_

Clara nodded. _I love you, Mama._

_I love you too._ Her mother smiled.

A sudden banging was at the door. The red-headed woman glared, then went to the door and slowly unlocked it.

Suddenly, a crowd of black-suited men came in and grabbed the little girl by her arms and dragged her to a shadowed figure. I couldn't see his face, but he looked scary.

_Yahiru_, the man said in Japanese, with evil pleasure in his voice. _It's been a while since I've last seen you._

The girl gave a nervous shiver as she looked at his shoes.

_Have you not taught your daughter Japanese?_ The man snarled at the crouched woman in the corner, severely injured after the men barged in.

_Of course I have_, the woman stated in Japanese. _I've taught her everything_.

_Then why does she not respond?_ He demanded.

_Maybe it's because you're frightening her!_ The woman shot.

The man snapped his fingers. Three black-suited men came over, two picked her up on either side and the other punched her in the stomach. She groaned and wheezed as she looked up at the man. The little girl screamed.

_No! _I couldn't stand it anymore. I ran at the man, but realized I couldn't even touch him. I was like vapor!

_Stop it, Papa! _The girl shrilled in fear.

_Hmph_, the man sneered. _Let her have another handful, then bring her with us to jets._

He turned and walked out the door with almost all of his men, and a screaming girl who they dragged with them, flaying her arms and legs, screaming as tears poured out of her purple eyes. _MAMA!_

The woman gave a last long look as the men repeatedly beated her. Then she turned her head to me, like she knew I was there. Under all those bruises, I recognized her face. Calliope Bacchus.

She started to cough. Blood splattered on the white floor in-front of the Christmas tree. The lights were out and the Christmas tree was dark. The ornaments were smashed and the floor was cold under my feet. I looked around to see I was alone again, but in this awful place. The windows were smashed and the curtains were ripped, the remains drifted like clothes on a clothes hanger in the afternoon. The air was cold and there were sirens outside, drawing nearer. I knelt on the ground were the broken glass didn't cover and picked up a picture frame that had been tossed into the fireplace.

The picture was of the girl and the Calli, smiling as the wind blew in a summer meadow.

I felt tears trickle down. I needed to talk to Calli.

************

* * *

**Nagihiko's POV**

I blinked my eyes. Once more. Yup, it's official. It's a brand new day.

I stopped the alarm on my clock and got dressed for dance practice. It had been a while since I'd practiced, so my mom decided to make me practice twice a day for the _next _two weeks to make up for the _last_ two weeks.

I had just finished with my hair when I heard something like shuffling of feet above my head. I looked up and realized it must have been Rima, but then again, wasn't she famous for sleeping 'till one in the afternoon on weekends? It was four in the morning right now, so there must have been something wrong. I took off my shoes and began to climb the stair ladder.

Since yesterday, she had been acting kind of weird. I haven't been able to talk to her because she had been avoiding me. And the thing that was even weirder was before I drifted off to sleep, I swear I heard Kusukusu yell that Rima liked me. No! Nagi, don't think about it! I mean, if you give yourself that hope... and it turns out to be a trick or a fake, I'll be in a worse state than yesterday when Nayuka showed up. Okay Nagi, concentrate on the real problem here.

I really felt bad for surprising her with a kiss. Oh God, maybe I had hurt her feelings by stealing her first kiss! Being a girl for my past life let me learn about the other gender, naturally, the secrets and most treasured things to a girl. An example; hair. I had to learn it the hard way too. Once, in third grade, three girls in my class invited the rest of the girls in the class for a sleep over party. I tried to stay hidden, hoping they would forget me. At first I thought I was off the hook, and when school ended, I came out of my hiding place, but just as I was about to go home, I was pounced― Yes, pounced on― by the three of girls, and invited me to go. I took the invitation and begged my mom to make up an excuse like I had gotten sick, so I couldn't make it. But being the honest, yet missing-common-sense type of person I was (Rima would say I still am), I forgot my mom was still obsessed with me fitting in as a girl. She thought it was a perfect idea for me to go and 'learn more about being womanly', so she made Tierra and Neige (but it ended up just being Neige because, knowing Tierra, she probably bailed to finish watching some anime special on T.V. or something) to help me pack and escort me to the sleep over party.

At the party I acted like I normally did, just go with the flow, being 'Nadeshiko'. But it so happened, even in the middle of the winter, these crazy people wanted to go swimming. You're probably thinking the same thing I did. 'Why not cast them on a God forbidden ice berg in the North Pole?' But I soon learned about heated swimming pools, so it would keep you warm, like a hot spring… in some ways.

I avoided being invited to go swimming at all costs. When one of the girls asked me why I wasn't going, I said I had forgotten my swimming suit. Tip number one; girls are very stubborn. She told her mom and brought me a swimming suit of hers. (What kind of sick people share their bathing suits? I guess I'll never understand…) I refused the suit nicely and told her another lie; I'm afraid of water. Yet, she kept telling me she would help me with my fears. I told her I couldn't swim well, and she said she'd teach me. I finally made up some random words in English (I had been studying because I knew my mother would send me to England one of these days) and told her it was a very common allergy of water particles in Europe that I had picked up when I visited when I was younger. She believed me, and went on with her friends, letting me use the electronics in her room until they got back. Tip number two; girls trust girls. It's a natural instinct when you're young. God, if only they knew I was a guy…

When they came back, they decided to have a fashion show. I remember the torture of the make-up, clothes, shoes, camera difficulties, and the hair brushing. I vowed to always brush my hair from that day on, daily untill the day I die, because I didn't want more hair pulling and tangles to go through anymore. I think I learned more about girls in that sleep over than I wanted or ever needed to.

When I reached the top, I opened the door slightly.

"Rima-chan? Are you awake—"

"OH MY FREAKIN' HORSE SHOES—"

"I'm sorry!" I backed off the door, afraid she might have been changing or something.

"It's okay," Rima sighed. I opened the door once more and noticed a shriveled up form in the corner of the room. I walked closer and sat next to her on the floor. Immediately, I noticed heavy bags underneath her eyes.

"Rima-chan, you don't look like you've gotten a lot of sleep. What happened—"

"It's none of your concern." She stated, coldly.

I blinked, then smiled. "It will be my concern if you can't stay up in class and the teacher calls on you, then you'll be sent to the nurse's office and sent home, well, back here, to rest." I heard her sigh.

"Better than telling you."

"I thought you got along with me in this form." I teased her in my 'Nadeshiko' voice. She gave me a sour look. "Or you could be sent to the office to deal with Tsukasa…" her eyes widened at the sound of his name.

"Fine," She grumbled. "You win."

I chuckled with victory.

"I had a nightmare, and I haven't been able to get any sleep since then."

"When did you wake up…?" I asked, curious.

"One in the morning."

I blinked. "But then you only got two hours of sleep!"

"I know!" Rima shouted. "But every time I shut my eyes, I don't know, I get weird and a scary feeling like something bad is going to happen, you know what I mean?"

I bit my bottom lip. "I think so. I remember when I was small and started summer camp I was afraid people would find out I was a guy, but the feeling eventually faded."

She looked away.

An awkward and eerie silence fell over us.

"Thanks…" Rima muttered so quietly, I had trouble hearing.

"Could you repeat that?" I asked politely.

"I said," Rima said gritting her teeth, "Thank. You."

"For what?"

"For making me…" She seemed to have a hard time thinking of a word. "Happy." She said, as if proud of herself, then her face turned pale. "I blurted out my thoughts… didn't I?"

I laughed. "No…"

"Liar." She accused. I chuckled.

"Oh no, you revealed my personality. What a detective, you surely are the next Sherlock!" I said with sarcasm as I dramatically put my hand to my forehead. Then I got up and began to walk to the ladder.

"Wait, where are you going?" Rima said as she got up herself.

"What does it look like?" I laughed. "I didn't dress up for nothing!"

"But…" Rima looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't. "Do you think…? I could, you know…" She fiddled with her hair.

"You want to watch me dance?" I asked with surprise.

She raised her nose and said like the pouting chibi devil she was, "It's not like I care, but I wanted to see if my enemy was lying about his dancing skills."

I grinned. "In a way, you're still asking to see me dance."

"Whatever."

I shook my head. Rima was never going to change. "You should get some rest, but if you want, you can follow me to the dance room."

She looked at me, then the bed. Like little gears in her head clicked, she came towards me. I felt heat rise on my cheeks but I brushed them away with the long sleeves of my kimono.

"Well, don't just stand there," Rima snapped. "Get going!"

************

* * *

**Utau's POV**

My shoulders slouched as I made my way to the middle school. Turns out after all my music debuts, I've been growing really popular, but my academics in school hit rock bottom, so now, I had to go back a few grades. I sighed.

"Utau-chan," El asked as she skipped along in her angel get-up underneath her uniform jacket for the elementary school. "You know we're going to be late and the teacher's going to be mad~…"

"I don't freaking care!" I shouted over my shoulder at her while she hopped along being the air-headed angel she was.

"Ooh," Il gasped dramatically. "Utau has been acting more grumpy than usual." Then she whipped out a note book from no where in particular and stated with a menacing laugh, "Three for Il and _zero_ for Little Miss Goodness!"

"No way!" El screamed. "I can get Utau happier and get a point too!" She ran in-front of me and pushed the ends of my lips upward. "Happy Utau-chan~!"

"Cut it out!" I yelled as I slapped her hands away. "I can't believe you guys are betting on how I feel. You both need a hobby."

"I guess that's why the charas always end up doing Kiseki's every command." I turned around to see Kukai.

"Hey Kid," I said with a smirk, knowing he _really_ hated me calling him that. "How's it going?"

He scowled. "I told you to stop calling me that."

"Too bad," I said, sticking my tongue out playfully. "It's your nickname for life."

He scoffed. "Yeah, when I get to collage I will be 'Kid', and when I break something one day and go to the hospital, the doctor will say, 'Hey, aren't you Kid?' and when I retire all the seniors will know me as 'Kid'. What a perfect life story."

I smirked. "You got that right."

"Then what about you, Pop Star?"

I punched him lightly in the ribs. "You can't go around calling me that."

"What's the difference with my nickname and yours?" He chuckled.

"Mine is on the verge of life and death," I told him seriously. "But _yours_ does not. If the kids really consider the thought about me being the _actual_ Hoshina Utau, the schools would become chaos."

Kukai thought for a moment. "Everyone knows you as Tsukiyomi Utau at school, but you do have a point there."

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks for believing me."

"Hey Mr. Ladies Man," Daichi interrupted. "What about the freaking ball…?"

"Uh…" Kukai looked so nervous; he looked like he wanted to jump in a hole right then and there. "I'll buy it after school…"

"You bet you will!" Daichi threatened.

"What's going on…?" I asked as Daichi stomped ahead.

Kukai sighed. "Yesterday, the soccer field was being used in the park by some training teams for some camp, so I tried practicing soccer in my backyard. But one of my brothers yelled at me and I accidentally kicked the ball too hard because of the distraction. The ball rolled onto the street and there was this truck passing by…"

I started to giggle until I was laughing hysterically. "You're pretty stupid…" I said between hiccups of laughter. "I can see why Daichi is so mad…"

"Yes! One for El!"

"It doesn't count!"

"How does it not count?" El screamed before pouncing on Il and pulling out her hair. "Give. Me. My. POINT!"

Kukai and I burst into laughter.

"Wait, two points!"

"You got'ta be out of your effing mind!" Slap.

"No swearing!"

"I can swear all the hell I want!"

"You swore!" El gasped as Kukai and I were rolling on the floor with laughter. "Why do you torture your twin sister like this, Il? Is it because you are the demon of Utau's character?"

"No shit, Sherlock!"

"NO SWEARING!"

I whipped my eyes from the tears that came from laughing so hard. Just then, I noticed a tall purple-haired boy and a really short blonde-haired girl walking on the other side of the street. I was about to wave at them when I realized something was _really_ wrong. I grabbed Kukai by his shirt and threw him in a bush near by. I motioned Il and El to follow.

"What the hell Utau!" Kukai muttered as he rubbed his bruised head. I lowered myself in the bush and put my finger on his lips. I thought I saw him blush.

"Shut up," I told him as I peeked through the leaves at the two. "There's something going on with our Purple-head and Chibi Demon."

"Really?' Kukai came forward and peeked next to me. "I don't get it. They're just walking to school."

I raised an eyebrow. "And _how_ are they walking to school?"

"By foot?"

I rolled my eyes. "You can be such an idiot. Shouldn't they be killing each other right now?"

Kukai stared at them again, and his eyes widened. "Wow, that's creepy. You're right. And to make this worse, Chibi Demon's only walking three feet away from Purple-head instead of the usual five."

I nodded. "They should be firing insults at each other right now, instead of this…"

"Peacefulness. Or awkward air."

"Something must have happened to them."

"El senses love!" El yelled.

"Shut the fuck up already!" Il screamed.

"Shush," Kukai and I barked in unison.

"Wait," Kukai snapped his fingers. "I remember at the funeral everyone was deciding where Rima would stay."

"So…?"

"And we later decided Rima would stay at Nagi's place."

I smiled. "So something _did_ happen!"

Kukai shrugged, but gave me that boy-ish grin of his. "But I'm going to get to the bottom of it." He gave me a thumbs up. "You in?"

I smirked right back. "Oh, you _know _I'm in."

************

* * *

**French Translations:**

_Mon chere_ : My dear

_Mon dieu _: My God! (or) Oh My God!

_Tres exitant_ : So Exciting! (or) Very Exciting!

_Pardone Moi_ : Pardon me

_Mes excusez_ : Excuse me

_Mais_ : But

_Excusez mon impolitesse _: Excuse my impolitness

************

* * *

**Piggy-chan: Oh we all know Utau and Kukai are planning something XD **

**Rima: T.T And I don't like it...**

**Piggy-chan: Well, I guess the plot has just revealed another hunk of clues.**

**Nagihiko: And I thought I was going kiss-**

***Rima death glares***

**Nagihiko: Umm... actually, never mind.**

**Piggy-chan: REVIEW PLZ!**

_-NW_ :3


	9. The New Students

**Piggy-chan: Sorry for the late update :( I'm not going to make up any excuses, I'm sorry.**

**Rima: She's being an idiot again.**

**Piggy-chan: I know...**

**Rima: Wow... you're not in denial any more! Creepy... Piggy-chan owns nothing...**

**Piggy-chan: Yup and I only own my OCs.**

**Rima: You didn't even correct me!**

**Piggy-chan: I'm not feeling in the mood to bug you... *sigh***

**Rima: O-okay...**

_-NW _:3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings!**

Chapter Seven

The New Students

* * *

"So…" Nagihiko finally said after minutes of silence.

We were walking quietly for a while now, it was so awkward, I felt a bit of relief when he started talking. Usually, I would cut him off or tell him to shut up. But something made me walk closer to him, like he was some kind of magnet. It was weird, but no matter how much I strained to stay away, I found myself walking closer. Five feet… four feet… three feet. It took all my will power to stay there. It's a good thing Nagihiko's not mind-reader or anything; otherwise it would look like I was being mentally dragged towards him. "Listen, I'm sorry about what I did yesterday, and I…I-I want to apologies for my strange behavior."

The whole event came back to mind and made my cheeks start flaring up all of a sudden. It's probably a heat wave or something…

We stayed quiet for another few blocks. "It's okay."

"What?"

"I accept your apology."

"Oh."

Another few blocks.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said without looking up at him.

"Uh, sure."

"Why did you do it?"

"What?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

Silence.

"Nagihiko?"

I looked back at him because he had stopped walking very suddenly.

"You okay?"

"Um…yeah." He resumed walking. I heard some strange sounds from a bush nearby but figured it was squirrel or something.

"So?"

"What do you mean?"

"My question earlier." I said crossing my arms. I was looking directly at him, but he just kept his eyes fixed on the amazingly dirty sidewalk.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about?"

I got the hint he didn't want to talk about it. In other situations, I would have made him spit it out, but now I was starting to get the feeling I didn't want to know either.

I started to realize since last night I couldn't stop thinking about the event… Nagihiko kissed me. It freaked me out, and I should have killed him, but I found myself… smiling in the mirror. I had to drag myself out of there or else Baaya or one of the maids would be wondering why the mirror was broken as if someone had punched it. I would have lost self control and tore out my hair, but I couldn't help but feel a party of me a bit giddy-ish. It's not like I like him or anything, right? It was one of the possibilities… I hoped would be nearly impossible. But on a what-the-hell-kind-of-percent it was on, I felt it was one of the only reasonable potentials. Ugh, what's wrong with me? I DON'T like him, I can't! We're enemies. And it can't change, unless, we both like each other… God damn it, Rima! Stop thinking about weird things!

I glanced at Nagihiko who looked stressed out as if he were thinking the same.

"Hey…" I started, really wanting the silence to be broken.

"_Shh… I can't hear them!_"

"_Hey, stop pushing!_"

"_Its love~!_"

"_Shut up, El!_"

"El?" Nagihiko and I both said at the same time.

No, it couldn't have been…

We both walked over to the bush and brushed the leaves away to find… Utau, Kukai, Il and El.

I crossed my arms. "What are you guys doing?"

Utau turned to Kukai and said nervously, "We were uh… um, looking f-for, uh, Kukai's… new watch!"

Kukai laughed nervously. "Y-yeah, Daichi threw my watch in the bushes after he found out the soccer ball he let me borrow was run over."

Nagihiko raised an eyebrow. "By what?"

"A truck."

I bit my lip from laughing.

"Well, that's no surprise." Nagihiko teased. "But it's also no excuse to be spying either."

"Spying?" Utau said like it was alien to her. "We weren't spying! We weren't even listening to you two or anything, right Kukai?"

"Y-yeah…"

"So, we weren't spying. What gave you the idea we were spying? Besides, spying is looking, and hiding behind corners like in those movies when spies or a detective is tracking down a criminal. No offence, but I don't think you'd be worthy enough to track down, and we're not detectives or anything so spying wouldn't have anything to do with what we're doing. And anyways—"

"We get it Utau," I sighed.

She got up, brushed her uniform skirt and smiled. "So… I heard you're staying at Nagihiko's place. Hope nothing naughty happened."

"UTAU!" Nagihiko and I yelled at the same time which made both of us redden. Why? I have no idea.

"Okay!" She held up her hands in surrender, grabbed Kukai's hand and dragged him ahead with Il and El following after.

"That was… weird." Nagihiko summed up.

"Yup," I said.

* * *

"Amu. Amu? Amu. Amu! AMU!"

I waved my hand before her face, getting no response. I smacked her head and shrieked, "Damn it, Amu! RESPOND!"

"What?" She said as if she was starting to become sober.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" I knocked on her head as I tip-toed to get to her height.

She frowned at me. "What is it?"

"Are you okay?" I asked her, seriously.

"I'm fine," she replied. "Just… got my mind on something else, that's all."

I couldn't help but smirk a little. "Something happen yesterday?"

Immediately, her face began to redden. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Heard from Kusukusu you called yesterday," I said while distracting myself with looking at my nails. I pretended not to notice her flushing embarrassment.

"W-what did she tell you?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about."

She sighed in relief.

"It's nothing to worry about because I'll keep it a secret, for a price of course."

"RIMAA-CHAAN!"

I giggled. I can be so mean, even to my best friend. "Fine, fine. Kusukusu just told me you were home alone with Ikuto yesterday, right?"

Amu looked away in embarrassment, and busied herself with opening her locker.

"So? Nothing happened?" I pressed.

"N-not much…"

"No?" I teased. "Just the usual? Or did you two do something naughty—"

"Rima-chan!"

"OKAY! Jeez…" I opened my locked. "But you know you can tell me anything."

"It's embarrassing," Amu mumbled. Then she smirked. "But, then again, you're the one living with Nagi."

I hid my face away from her, not wanting to show her _my_ blushing face.

Abruptly, a pencil from my pencil case slipped out of my fingers and rolled across the hall. I ran after it, when I bumped my head against someone else's.

"Ow… watch where you're going…"

I stared at the person as she stared right back with big, soft auburn brown eyes. Her tanned skin reminded me of beaches on hot summers.

She blinked.

"I-I'm sorry," she said in a very heavy accent of something I didn't know. "I don't speak Japanese very well, please excuse me," She picked the pencil up and handed it to me. Her long, hip-length, chocolaty brown hair swayed as she got up and walked away. I noticed something peek behind her hair, but dismissed it.

"Who's that?" Amu asked, right behind me.

She helped me up as I wondered the same thing. "I don't know, but she looks like a foreigner."

* * *

"Everyone," our home room teacher said as we all grew quiet. "We have two transferred students today. Both come from far away places, and one doesn't know much Japanese nor our customs, so please give a warm welcome to both of them."

Everyone grew silent as two girls came into the room. One of them, a girl with shoulder-length purple-hair and lime green eyes, smiled and bowed to the class. "I am Fujisaki Nayuka, pleased to meet you all. I hope we can all get along."

"Hey, Nagi, is she your sister or something?"

"Yeah, do you know her?"

Nagihiko looked of pure shock, then it grew to more of pissed mode. "No." He said flatly.

"Don't lie, Nagi," Nayuka teased. "We're engaged!"

Everyone gasped. Nagihiko slammed his hands on his desk.

"I'm kidding!" Nayuka laughed. "Can't take a joke, Nagihiko?"

I could see growing fire in his eyes while everyone laughed at Nayuka's joke. I would be pretty mad too if something like that happened to me, so I guess I could relate.

"Hello," the same pretty girl I met in the hallway came in the door. "My name is Mariah Castillo, and I'm part Latin American and part Japanese. I'm a bit foreign to Japan, so I hope I can improve my Japanese while I stay here to study. I look forward to getting along with everyone."

I started to get a strange feeling, like I knew this girl.

Then it hit me, _Wendy-chan_. They looked so similar, and didn't Wendy-chan say something about a niece?

I noticed the room got quiet, all the boys were staring at her wide-eyed. Well, she _was_ really pretty. I glanced at Nagihiko who still looked pissed and didn't seem to notice the air in the room, Tadase looked like he was under a spell (which I find hilarious), Amu just smiled while tapping a pencil on her chin (I wonder if she was day dreaming about Ikuto), and the girls started to fawn over the two new students.

"Is your hair naturally like that?"

"It's so wavy, like in the commercials."

"Are you a model?"

"Nayu-chan, are you related to Nagi-kun?"

"Are you going to live here?"

The teacher cleared her throat and told the other students to sit down. "Fujisaki-san will sit behind Hinamori-san and Castillo-san will sit in-front of Mashiro-san."

I swear I saw them both perk at the sound of my name. I shook it off.

"Hello," The dark-haired girl greeted me as she took her seat and the teacher resumed to the lesson. "What's your name?"

I frowned. I didn't like the feeling she was giving me, it was scary. I pretended not to notice.

"Aww," She crooned. "You're the shy type. I know I already introduced myself, but my name is Mariah. I hope we can be friends."

I stiffened at the thought. "I'm sorry, I'm trying to concentrate on the lesson."

I expected her to snap, or apologize or something like that. But she just nodded sadly and faced the front.

I saw a small slip of paper land on my desk.

_Hey, maybe we can hang out together at lunch?_

_-Mariah_

I couldn't believe how insisting she was. But, I guess because she's new and all, I could help her around for a while. And at the same time, I could ask her a few questions and see if she's the niece Wendy-chan told me about.

* * *

**Nagihiko's POV**

I can't believe she humiliated me like that! In front of the class too! Oh, when I'm through with her, she won't have a thing to say because she won't be able to make a single sound! I wanted to rip her head of, right then and there, but I don't think that would have done me any good.

I noticed Castillo-san talking to Rima-chan during class, maybe they know each other? Because it wasn't like Rima to make friends with strangers. She told Castillo-san something then Castillo nodded sadly and looked back at the front. She pulled out a loose leaf of paper, scribbled something, then pushed it onto Rima's desk when the teacher wasn't looking. Rima frowned, wrote something and handed it back.

I wonder what they were doing.

Then I saw Nayuka talking to Amu. I wanted to go over there and punch the crap out of her, but that would look mean to everyone. She was probably telling Amu lies about me, or worse, telling her that Nadeshiko is actually me… OH MY DEAR GOD!

"Sensei!" I raised my hand.

"Yes, Fujisaki-san?"

"May I go to the office? I'm not feeling well."

"I see." The teacher nodded. "You may."

"And can Nayuka come with me?"

"Uh… I guess…"

I barged over to my _beloved_ cousin and grabbed her by the collar, and dragged her out the door.

She coughed and wheezed as the uniform strangled her, I let her go once we were outside the building.

"I don't know what you're doing here," I told her with hatred in every word. "But you will _not_ be intruding in _my_ life, getting close to _my_ friends, and the people _I_ care about. Do. You. Understand?"

She just smiled wickedly. "So my teasing in class hasn't worn off yet? You used to be so much more tolerant when we were kids, Nadeshiko."

"And don't call me that," I hissed.

She smirked. "So everyone doesn't know you're actually a cross-dresser? That's so sad, I wonder how guilty you are. Or maybe you think you'll be all alone when everyone finds out you're just a fraud with a pretty face. You're just as bad of a liar as I am."

"Shut up," I snapped. "At least I didn't hide and turn against my only family."

Her face paled. "You can't believe how much you're family has put me through. I had such high expectations; only to find out I wasn't good enough to reach them. Then they replaced me with _you_! It was a disgrace, and I certainly won't let it happen again!" She snapped her fingers and her chara, Moe, came out.

"What are you doing?" I yelled.

She sneered. "Let's see who's better now. I've noticed you're chara isn't with you. What happened? She went back into her egg? Couldn't believe in dancing anymore? How pitiful," she crooned. "Moe!"

"_Oui_, Nayuka," The little chara twirled once before entering back into her egg, a blue-ish colour with a heart on it and golden engraving all around.

"Unlock my heart; Madame Amore!"

I stared at my cousin, stunned that she wanted to battle with me. "What the hell are you trying to prove here?"

She scorned. "You're brain always did work so slowly." She wore a medieval French style dress that was cut short to her knees so it looked a bit like a lolita. She had old-style high heels and her purple hair was tied up in a mountain of curls with little white ribbons. Most guys would grovel over her looks, but I personally found it disgusting.

"I guess I should make the first move," She smirked and pulled out a big, wide mirror with pretty silver engravings of shapes and words written all around the rim.

"Wait!" Came a shout behind me. I turned around to see Rima-chan and Castillo-san.

"What are you doing?" Nayuka yelled to see Castillo-san snatch the mirror out of her hands. She mumbled something to Nayuka which made her face look of pure hatred.

"You okay?" Rima asked me.

I nodded. "She didn't do anything yet."

Rima gazed at Nayuka and Castillo-san who were talking in low, but angry voices.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Mariah asked to go to the office right after you left, and dragged me with her." She paused. "It was like she knew this was going to happen."

I glanced at my cousin and Mariah, now they were just staring at each other, as if they had just agreed on something.

"So…" Rima said when we walked over. "You guys know each other?"

Mariah smiled. "Just a bit, we didn't really get along at first, but we could be what you call… friends. We know each other through work."

"What sort of work?" Rima asked.

"Oh, hard work, but they pay okay, I guess."

I had a feeling she was telling the truth.

"Please excuse my behavior," Nayuka apologized like Mariah was making her. "I get irrational when I am challenged by people."

"Especially me," I said.

She looked like she wanted to slice me in half with a chainsaw. Mariah gave her a stern warning. "Y-yes."

Rima seem to notice the hatred vibes going around, so she mumbled, "We should get back to class, the teacher will get worried if we don't come back after a while."

"So," Nayuka smiled. "You're Mashiro-san?"

Rima flinched a bit at the sound of her name. "Y-yeah… what of it?"

"I've heard a bit about you and you're friends from Nagihiko."

I stared at her. What's she up to…?

"Oh?" Rima crossed her arms and looked at me with dead seriousness.

"I'll be looking forward to meeting all of you. Amu, Tadase, Kairi, Yaya, Utau, Kukai, and Ikuto. All of you."

Rima stared back at Nayuka, her eyes shouting, _How do you know all of us?_

Nayuka said, "I think I need to go back home, I'm not feeling too well. See you later!" She waved and went back in the building.

Rima said something to Mariah and then dragged me over to a tree. Standing in the shade, she gave me her hard stony stare and asked, "What did you tell her?"

"Nothing!" I insisted.

"Then how does she know?"

"I really don't know! The last time I saw her, she was orphaned and we were only six! Then she got adopted by someone in England and I never saw her again. She didn't even write or send pictures. No emails, phone calls, nothing! It was like she never existed."

Her eyes darkened. "That means she's getting all the information from somewhere else."

I nodded. "But who?"

Rima tapped her chin. "Mariah said something about work. Maybe I can get closer to her and get more information on how they met."

I nodded. "Nayuka has a chara, I remember, she was with Nayuka since she was orphaned."

"I think…" Rima glanced at Mariah who was waiting at the entrance, smelling some flowers by the door. "I think Mariah has a chara too."

"Really?"

"I think I saw it, but I'm not that sure. We need to have a meeting."

I agreed. "Tell everyone to meet in the Royal garden at lunch."

* * *

**Rima's POV**

"And I think they dragged her back to the airplanes too."

Everyone remained silent after I finished explaining my dream.

"I never knew that about Calli-sensei," Tsukasa finally said. "I just assumed when she told me she was in an accident before, that it had to do with a plane crash of some kind. I'll send for her right now."

"Plane crash?" Kukai asked when Tsukasa left. "Is that how she escaped?"

"Maybe," Tadase tapped his chin. "Maybe they crashed and Calli-sensei got away. But her daughter wasn't able to, and stayed with her father."

"But who is her daughter?" Amu asked.

"I remember Calli-sensei calling her Clara," I told them. "But her father called her Yahiru."

I felt someone tug at my shirt. I turned around to see Kusukusu had stopped running around with the others. "We had a transferred student in our class today."

Rhythm nodded. "Yeah, her name was Yahiru Baker, she's from England."

Everyone started to talk. It started to get so loud, I couldn't think properly.

"YAYA WANTS EVERYONE TO BE QUIET AND GIVE HER CAKE!" Yaya shrieked so loud, it almost broke my ear drums.

Then as if fate couldn't torture us enough, Pepe stepped up and yelled the same thing but with her name instead of Yaya's in chipmunk version.

Kairi took a package out of a fancy paper bag and gave it to her. She unwrapped it and gobbled it up like she hadn't eaten for days and tackled Kairi in a thank you hug. Pepe just cried until Musashi offered to buy her some later.

"Hello?"

We turned to see Calli-sensei at the Royal garden entrance.

"Hello," Nagihiko greeted her. "Please come in and—"

I cut him off. "Explain everything about your daughter, Yahiru, or Clara as you call her."

* * *

**Piggy-chan: Now do you understand why I'm grumpy? **

**Rima: Uh, no?**

**Piggy-chan: IT'S TO SHORT!**

**Rima: Ooh... well then you'll have to make up for it next chapter, right?**

**Piggy-chan: Oh yeah... okie dokie! Next chappie, here I come!**

**Nagihiko: ^^;; you have mood swings...**

**Pepe: PEPE WANTS CAKE! -review pwease-HHHHHHHHHHH!**

_-NW_ :3


	10. Some Truths

**Piggy-chan: I'm Baaaack!**

**Rima; I'm going to KILL you one day.**

**Piggy-chan: I've installed locks in my windows and doors, so don't even think about it. ;P And high school's been hard on me, I'm in my first year, so it's very different. Thank you everyone who waited for so long for this chapter. *bows***

**Kusukusu: On with the show!**

**Rima: It's not a show... Piggy-chan doesn't own anything.**

**Piggy-chan: Enjoy!**

_-NW_ :3

* * *

**Shugo Siblings!**

Chapter Nine

Some Truths

* * *

Calli half expected someone to pop out of no where and scream, 'NOT!' but minutes passed and not a word was passed along anyone. Everyone in the Royal Garden just stared and waited for her answer. Most of them were just curious stares, innocent and fragile, the eyes of children. But one in particular was bothering her. The pair of eyes belonged to the caramel-haired girl, pierced through her very being with determination. It made Calli uncomfortable and jumpy. It was hard to believe such a small seventh grader could make her nerves in turmoil, just with an insignificant stare.

Several minutes passed, or maybe it was just what it felt like, Calli's memories flashed and jumped about, not really staying and sinking in, just reminding her of things she didn't want to remember. She breathed in a sharp, shaky breath and said, "H-how do you know about that?"

"It's none of your—" Rima started but Yaya cut in.

"Rima-tan had dreams!" Yaya squealed.

Calli blinked. "Dreams are windows into time and dimensions. They are the only ways you can have contact with things that relate to you through your past, present or future. How would you know anything about my daughter?"

"So you admit that you are familiar with the person former Queen mentions," Kairi countered.

Calli looked at the children before her. They were so young, yet much smarter than looked. She finally gave a frustrated sigh. Tsukasa motioned her to one of the chairs and she sat down.

"So," Calli started. "Where do we begin?"

"In my dreams," Rima told her after everyone, including the ex-charas, were seated. "You were having Christmas with a girl who looked a lot like you. You told her this would be the last one, and a Japanese man interrupted you two, beated you and took the girl away."

Calli had a sad look in her eyes. "Ah, yes, Christmas. Such a long time ago. My husband took her away for his selfish purposes because he thought she might be the key into finding his life's goal."

"What type of goal?" Amu asked.

Calli smiled at the children's naivety. "Well, I'll have to ask you all a question before I say anything."

"We understand," Tadase said.

"Do you believe in magic?" The question caught everyone off guard. What else could they have done? Would they answer yes? After all, Shugo Charas were, in a way, magic.

Everyone nodded

Calli accepted their answer, "A long time ago, when the legend of the falling star was created, they said one night, a farmer was finished his work and went out into the fields to play his pipes. He played for so long and practiced for such a long time, people said the music enchanted people, animals and even things we thought not to be alive.

"That night, all the stars were out in the sky, and his music enchanted the stars. Without knowing, he accidentally caused a star to lean towards Earth to listen closer, and fell out of the heavens. The farmer immediately stopped when he saw the star fall, but it was too late. The star fell to Earth, and became vulnerable. The farmer stretched out his hands and caught the falling star in his palm.

"Because the star had lost its flame as it fell, it required a new one. In the legend, a star's flame is unimaginably powerful and magical. A simple fire would not have done anything to help. Even if it was a forest fire, that kind of fire would have been irrelevant. Only a life source was good enough, and the farmer knew it. So he took the star in his hand and swallowed it.

"There were consequences, such as living with another life with his own, greed, temptation, the feeling and pain of the flame consuming his heart. But the farmer was kind and good and kept that way for many years, had children, until the flame consumed his heart completely."

"So," Kukai asked quietly. "He died?"

"Yes," Calli answered in dismay, "But his power was passed along the generations. All his descendants have a strong feeling which they can use from emotions and bring them forth into the physical world. You see, normal people have something called, a 'Wish'." She looked at them skeptically, wondering if she would have to explain this too.

Nagihiko shook his head. "We know."

Calli nodded and continued, "But his descendants have an exceptional talent of sensing stronger ones and sometimes, bringing them forth and out of its owner."

"Assuming you are one of these descendants," Kairi said, pushing the bridge of his glasses. "What is the result of taking a 'Wish' out of a person?"

"Nothing much," Calli hesitated. "But over time, hope starts to die and you begin to forget the important things around you. Special memories fade, names, people you know, you become a sad person, literally."

"Like our Heart's Egg," Amu murmured. Apparently, Calli heard.

"Not exactly." She reassured. "A heart's egg is the essence of your dreams of a child, but a 'Wish' is the spark of life that makes your eyes and heart see what you truly want. In a child, it is mostly dormant, only waking when the dream or the owner's emotional level begins to drop. It is most needed as an adult, but the majority of grown ups forget the magic in believing, so when they're truly in danger, they can't see their 'Wish' and the 'Wish' starts to fade and die away."

"Oo!" Yaya yelled, waving her hand in the air like it was math class. "Yaya doesn't understand!" Yaya whined. "What does this have to do with the star?" For once, Rima noted to herself, Yaya asked a sensible question.

"The star," Calli explained, "Is powerful in its own way. I don't entirely know if the legend is true, but people believed stars gave life to dreams and had incredibly influential wishes that could increase a living person's ideas. When the farmer caught one, people thought he would wish for riches and other self absorbent things. But he didn't, he let the flame live and consume his heart."

"Did it hurt?" Rikka whimpered.

"I assume so," Calli chuckled. "And in a way, he's not regretful at all, but in another way, it becomes a burden to all his children."

"Why?" Amu asked.

"We don't live for a very long time, just like our ancestor," Calli said quietly. "Our usual limit is about thirty to forty years. Centauries ago, it would have been perfectly normal, but in this time period it's much too early."

"Your power," Rima said. "It's not controllable, is it?"

Calli was almost caught off guard by this. "No," she finally admitted. "It's usually strongest and most irrepressible when we are younger. My husband, though was kind at first, only wanted to get married so he could control me and have my power do his biddings. You see, the Embryo is not the only goal everyone wants. They say in the legend, when the farmer died, the star escaped from the man's body, but not Earth, and to this day lives in one person and bouncing around, consuming people's hearts. Lately, the star has become trickier to find, becoming smarter. It only stays in one body for a while, then goes off to another."

"Excuse the interruption," Kairi cut in, "But you describe this star as though it were _alive_."

Calli smiled. "Why, it is, in some ways. It is very much alive as you and I. Reality and fantasy have a way of colliding, don't you agree?"

Kairi looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't. For once, he seemed speechless. After all, the Charas were strangely magical and real as well.

"What does it do?" Kusukusu asked curiously.

"It grants a wish." Calli said, "Far more powerful than a normal person's or the Embryo for that matter. A single wish of either would be quite small and harmless unless the wish itself was a desire to destroy. The Star would grant your wildest dreams, but corruption was a side affect that came with the package no matter what. The farmer had great power, but the flame slowly consumed his heart. It is an unavoidable conclusion for anyone who has such power. Sometimes it could just hurt you, sometimes it could hurt the people around you, and other times it would affect the entire world."

"Sounds dangerous," a shadow dropped from the garden window in the ceiling. "I wonder why someone would want something like that so badly."

Amu almost screamed; from delight or fear, no one knew. "Ikuto!"

"Hello, my little strawberry," he almost crooned.

Tadase looked furious, Yaya looked bewildered, Kukai less than pleased, Kairi just sighed, Amu looked in faint, Nagihiko confused, and Rima showed her usual glare. Calli looked in surprise at the question and Tsukasa just smile like he _always_ did.

"Well, some people are just too greedy to notice the bad points in a good deal, right?" Calli said, as though it was something they should have assumed. "I used my 'Wish' when I was younger, in money trouble, when I met him. He offered his help and support, and I took it. I thought he was being nice, but he was only using me as a tracking devise. You see, when people use their 'Wish', it gives off a certain amount of power through sensations in the air. One of his prisoners felt mine, and told him about its power. You see, the larger power given off, the more powerful the 'Wish'.

"But as I grew older, my own potential of my ancestor's began to fade, and he grew angrier. I was expecting his child, but I ran before he found out, back to where I was born. I raised her for a while, but he came looking for me, and I begged him not to do anything at the moment. We made a deal that he would come to get her on her fifth Christmas. I hadn't had enough time to prepare her, to teach her about controlling her own abilities, but it was too late, and my husband did not listen to me. I was able to escape later, but I've been looking for Clara ever since. She doesn't understand what she is doing is wrong." Calli's eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away so she wouldn't show her students she was being weak. "She works for her father's company, Dream Corporations, the company that is looking for the Star. They've come this close, though I don't think they realize it."

The teacher then eyed Rima.

Rima blinked, seeing that everyone was looking at her now. "What?"

"You're Wish has been used," Calli replied. "I can still feel traces in your presence of the power released."

"Um," Rima said. "Okay?"

"Your power is the closest thing anyone's come upon for centuries. Only one person can have the Star, and since you have already used your 'Wish', it cannot be you, but someone close."

"I don't have anyone close to me," Rima said with a glare. "My parents are crazy, and I only have my friends."

"So it must be one of them," Calli said. "But not your Charas."

"How did you know…" Kukai started but Calli put up a hand as though to stop his question.

"I know things."

"So," Hikaru said quietly, who hadn't said anything in a while. "This means the Charas became like us because of her?" He said, pointing to Rima, and she found it irritating that he called her like some random stranger.

As if Amu only figured everything at the moment, her eyes widened and yelled, "So it wasn't me after all?"

Kairi raised an eyebrow while everyone sweat-dropped.

"So," Rima asked. "Am I in danger or something?"

"They know about you," Calli said. "But it might just be the matter of finding you. Or maybe they already have and are plotting something right now."

"How do we know if they're around?"

Calli was silent for a while. Then she replied almost regretfully, "He likes using children."

"Why" Tadase asked. "Why would he do something like that?"

"He believes humans are at their weakest point when in child state. They are able to understand things, and do them without hesitation. They are the easiest to bend and have the most power in dreams and wishing. The only way to detect them is their presences, which your chara can feel. Their essence of life can feel dead and inactive, as if their emotions and feelings have been blocked."

Rima almost chocked on the tea she was sipping. She then turned to Kusukusu who was giving her a wide eye stare.

"Calli-sensei?" Rima asked quietly. "I think I might know one of them."

"Who?" Calli inquired.

"Nagihiko's cousin, Nayuka Fujisaki, has the exact description of the presence you told us about. Kusukusu felt it when she came for an unexpected visit."

Calli looked like a deer in head lights. "So, the already have found you out."

"What's going to happen?" Nagihiko asked, suddenly angry.

"We need to know as much as possible as we can about this girl." Calli told them.

Nagihiko sighed. "It's a long story."

"Good," Tsukasa interrupted. "I like a good story."

When Nagihiko finished, everyone was wide eyed. Though he left out a few things and tried to water down on the dangerous parts, everyone was still pretty surprised, except for Rima.

"Did she come with anyone else?"

"Apparently, Mariah Castillo came with her and your daughter," Kairi answered.

"I see," The red-headed teacher looked deep in thought. "I need to speak with Clara, then. It might be impossible though, seeing that she will be well protected."

"What about the two girls?" Utau asked, slightly impatient. "Can we kill them?"

"No," Calli almost laughed. "But we need to study their behavior. They are waiting for the moment to strike, so we must do the same."

It was probably the only thing they could all agree on at the moment.

It was nearing supper and everyone was getting ready to go. Rima was about to head out the gate after Nagihiko when Calli called, "Not all hope it lost, Rima. They have your father."

Rima almost dropped her bag.

* * *

**Piggy-chan: Thanks for reading, 'till next time!**

**Rima: Then we'll have some real fun!... wait, why'd I say that?**

**Piggy-chan: Cuz I made you, Chibi Demon. And because it sounds cuter comeing from you than me.**

**Rima: Why you-**

**Piggy-chan: Bye! **

_-NW_ :3


End file.
